The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Galápagos () is a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, located on the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

off the Pacific coast of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, coinciding with the homonymous insular province. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

see is the Marian 'Catedral La Inmaculada', dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, in

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Puerto Baquerizo Moreno () is the capital of Galápagos Province, Ecuador. It is located on the southwestern coast of San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the archipelago, and is the capital of San Cristóbal Canton. It was founded by Gen ...

, on

San Cristóbal Island San Cristóbal Island (), also known as Chatham Island, is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part of San Cristóbal Canton, Ecuador. Names ''San Crist� ...

. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. It comprises ten parishes, which serve both locals and tourists to the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

natural reserve.

History

On 6 May 1950,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

established the

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Galápagos on territory split off from the Diocese of Guayaquil.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

elevated it to an

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of Galápagos on 15 July 2008.

Incumbent Ordinaries

(all

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

) So far, all incumbents have been

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

(O.F.M.) ;''Apostolic Prefects of Galápagos'' * Pedro Pablo Andrade Sanchez, O.F.M. † (1951–1959). Nacido en Quito - Ecuador (30 de junio de 1892 - 22 de noviembre de 1973 ) con el nombre de Luis Reinaldo Andrade Sánchez, fue hijo de Dr. Federico Estanislao Andrade Jaramillo y de la señora Victoria Sánchez Corral. Toma los hábitos el 5 de mayo de 1912. Fuente: Provincia de San Francisco de Quito. Sus hermanos fueron: Ricardo, Guillermo Enrique, Cornelio Estanislao, Gabriel Ignacio, Srta. Lucía Andrade Sánchez. * Juan de Dios Campuzano, O.F.M. † (20 Nov. 1959 – 30 Oct. 1967) * Hugolino Cerasuolo Stacey, O.F.M. (3 Oct. 1967 – 30 May 1975) * Serafín Luis Alberto Cartagena Ocaña, O.F.M. (17 May 1980 – 10 Sep. 1982) * Manuel Antonio Valarezo Luzuriaga, O.F.M. (22 June 1990 – 15 July 2008, cfr. infra) ;''Apostolic Vicars of Galápagos'' * Manuel Antonio Valarezo Luzuriaga, O.F.M. (''cfr. supra'' 15 July 2008 – 29 October 2013),

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 an ...

Quæstoriana Quaestoriana (also spelled Quæstoriana) was an ancient ''civitas'' (town) and bishopric in Roman Empire, Roman Byzacena(Roman North Africa, North Africa). Quaestoriana is also a suppressed and titular see of the province of Byzacena (North Africa) ...

(1996.04.22 – ...) * Áureo Patricio Bonilla Bonilla, O.F.M., former

Vicar Provincial A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the Order of Friars Minor in Ecuador, titular bishop of

Bida Bida is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria and a city on the A124 highway which occupies most of the area. The LGA has an area of and a population of 188,181 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 912. Geography Bida ...

(29 October 2013 – ...).

References

Sources and external links

* http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/esme0.htm Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in Ecuador Christian organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in Ecuador Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Galápagos Islands {{Ecuador-stub

History

Incumbent Ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links