The Roman Catholic Diocese of Machala ( la, Dioecesis Machalensis) is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

located in the city of

Machala Machala () is a city in south-west Ecuador. It is the capital of the El Oro Province, and is located near the Gulf of Guayaquil on fertile lowlands. Machala has a population of 241,606 (2010 census); it is the eighth-biggest city in the country, ...

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 Cuenca in Ecuador. Established on July 26, 1954 as the Territorial Prelature of El Oro from territory of the Dioceses of Guayaquil and Cuenca, it was elevated as the Diocese of Machala on January 31, 1969.

Bishops

Ordinaries

Prelates of the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of El Oro *Bishop Silvio Luis Haro Alvear (1954 – 23 Mar 1955);

Apostolic Administrator 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 adm ...

; previously, Auxiliary Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guayaquil The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Guayaquil ( la, Archidioecesis Guayaquilensis) is an archdiocese located in the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador. Special churches *Minor Basilica: ** Basílica de Nuestra Señora de La Merced in Guayaq ...

and

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 ...

of Antaeopolis; subsequently, Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ibarra The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ibarra ( la, Dioecesis Ibarrensis) is a diocese located in the city of Ibarra in the Ecclesiastical province of Quito in Ecuador. Churches *Basílica de Nuestra Señora de La Merced Bishops Ordinaries *José Igna ...

*Father Vicente Felicísimo Maya Guzmán (1956 – 29 Nov 1963); Apostolic Administrator; subsequently Bishop-Prelate of El Oro, and then first Bishop of Machala *Bishop-Prelate Vicente Felicísimo Maya Guzmán (29 Nov 1963 – 31 Jan 1969); Titular Bishop of

Comana pontica Comana Pontica ( grc, Κόμανα Ποντική, translit=Komana Pontika), was an ancient city located in ancient Pontus, now in modern Turkey. History Comana Pontica was located in the region of Pontus (now part of modern Turkey). It was ...

; previously, Apostolic Administrator of El Oro; subsequently, first Bishop of Machala Bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Machala *Bishop Vicente Felicísimo Maya Guzmán (31 Jan 1969 – 30 Jan 1978); previously, Apostolic Administrator and then Bishop-Prelate of El Oro *Bishop

Antonio José González Zumárraga Antonio José González Zumárraga (March 18, 1925 – October 13, 2008) was an Ecuadorian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. González Zumárraga was born in Pujili, Ecuador. He was ordained priest on July 29, 1951, following studies at the ...

(30 Jan 1978 – 28 Jun 1980); previously, Auxiliary Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quito The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Quito is the Catholic archdiocese in the capital city of Ecuador, Quito. It was established as the Diocese of Quito on 8 January 1545, before being elevated to archdiocese level in 1849 by Pope Pi ...

and Titular Bishop of

Tagarata Tagarata was a Roman era civitas of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis. The ancient city has been tentatively identified with ruins at Bir-El-Djedidi, Tunisia. The ancient city was also the seat of an ancient Christian bishopric, suffragan ...

; subsequently, Coadjutor Archbishop and then

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of Quito, then Cardinal-Priest of

Chiesa di Santa Maria in Via Chiesa (Italian, 'church') may refer to: People with the surname * Andrea Chiesa (born 1966), Swiss Formula One racer *Anthony della Chiesa (1394–1459), Italian Dominican friar *Bruno della Chiesa (born 1962), European linguist * Carlo Alberto D ...

, Rome, Italy, and President of the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador *Father Jesús Ramón Martínez de Ezquerecocha Suso (1980 – 14 Jan 1982); Apostolic Administrator; subsequently, Bishop-Prelate of the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Los Ríos and then Bishop there (

Roman Catholic Diocese of Babahoyo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Babahoyo ( la, Dioecesis Babahoiensis) is a diocese located in the city of Babahoyo in the Ecclesiastical province of Guayaquil in Ecuador. Ordinaries Apostolic Administrator *Adolfo Maria Astudillo Morales (13 Aug ...

) *Bishop Néstor Rafael Herrera Heredia (14 Jan 1982 – 22 Feb 2010); served as President of the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador *Bishop Luis Antonio Sánchez Armijos, S.D.B. (22 Feb 2010 – 22 Oct 2012); previously, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulcán *Bishop Ángel Polivio Sánchez Loaiza (20 Jul 2013 – 27 Sep 2022); previously, Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Guaranda The Roman Catholic Diocese of Guaranda ( la, Dioecesis Guarandensis) is a diocese located in the city of Guaranda in the Ecclesiastical province of Quito. It was erected on 29 December 1957 from territory from the Diocese of Riobamba. Bishops * ...

*Bishop Vicente Horacio Saeteros Sierra (27 Sep 2022 – ...)

Auxiliary bishop

Hermenegildo José Torres Asanza Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; es, San Hermenegildo; la, Hermenegildus, from Gothic ''*Airmana-gild'', "immense tribute"), was the son of king Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. ...

(2007-2018), appointed Bishop of Guaranda

Special churches

*Cathedral: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Merced,

*Minor Basilica: Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Natividad de Chilla, Chilla

External links

GCatholic.org

Roman Catholic dioceses in Ecuador Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Cuenca Christian organizations established in 1954 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Machala 1954 establishments in Ecuador {{SouthAm-RC-diocese-stub