The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoeiro do Norte ( la, Dioecesis Limoëirensis) is a

Latin rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

suffragan diocese in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of Fortaleza, both in Ceará state, northeast

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

episcopal see is Catedral Nossa Senhora da Conceiçao, dedicated to

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, in the city of Limoeiro do Norte.

History

* Established on 7 May 1938 as Diocese of Limoeiro do Norte by

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

's papal bulla ''Ad dominicum cuiusvis'', on territory split off from its Metropolitan, the Archdiocese of Fortaleza.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 489,000 Catholics (90.4% of 541,000 total) on 18,440 km² in 25 parishes and 1 mission with 41 priests (28 diocesan, 13 religious), 73 lay religious (18 brothers, 55 sisters) and 9 seminarians.

Bishops

(all Roman rite)

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Suffragan Bishops of Limoeiro do Norte'' * Aureliano de Matos (1940.01.30 – death 1967.08.19), no previous prelature *

José Freire Falcão José Freire Falcão (; 23 October 1925 – 26 September 2021) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Brasília from 1984 to 2004. He was created a cardinal in 1988. Biography José Freire Falcão was born on 23 O ...

(1967.08.19 – 1971.11.25), succeeding as previous

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

Vardimissa Medjana is a town and commune (municipality) in Bordj Bou Arréridj Province, Algeria. It is the (approximative) location the Ancient city and bishopric Vardimissa, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see. According to the 1998 census it has ...

(1967.04.24 – 1967.08.19) as Coadjutor Bishop of Limoeiro do Norte (1967.04.24 – 1967.08.19); later Metropolitan Archbishop of

Teresina Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in north-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of t ...

(Brazil) (1971.11.25 – 1984.02.15), Metropolitan Archbishop of

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(Brazil) (1984.02.15 – 2004.01.28), Second Vice-President of Latin American Episcopal Council (1987 – 1991), created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Luca a Via Prenestina (1988.06.28 – ...) * Pompeu Bezerra Bessa (1973.01.25 – death 1994.05.18), died 2000 *

Manuel Edmilson da Cruz Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

(1994.05.18 – retired 1998.05.06), previously

Vicus Cæsaris In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...

(1966.08.08 – 1994.05.18) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of São Luís do Maranhão (Brazil) (1966.08.08 – 1974.07.03) and as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Fortaleza (Brazil) (1974.07.03 – 1994.05.18), also

Apostolic Administrator sede plena An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Limoeiro do Norte (1992 – 1994.05.18) * José Haring,

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

(O.F.M.) (2000.01.19 – retired 2017.05.10) * André Vital Félix da Silva, Dehonians (S.C.I.) (2017.05.10 – ...).

Coadjutor bishop

(1967); future Cardinal

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* José Mauro Ramalho de Alarcón Santiago, appointed Bishop of Iguatú, Ceara in 1961

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo - data for all sections

Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Fortaleza Roman Catholic dioceses in Brazil

Religious organizations established in 1938 Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tr ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1938 establishments in Brazil {{Brazil-RC-diocese-stub