The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Sancti Dominici; es, Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Santo Domingo) is a Latin

Metropolitan Archdiocese A metropolis religious jurisdiction, or a metropolitan archdiocese, is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces ...

in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. The see was erected 8 August 1511 as the Diocese of Santo Domingo and elevated to archdiocese on 12 February 1546."Archdiocese of Santo Domingo"
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 4, 2017"Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 In recognition of the fact that the see was the first established in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo can use the title of

Primate Primates are a diverse order (biology), order of mammals. They are divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include the Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and ...

of the Indies, according to the bull of

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a ...

''Divinis praeceptis'' issued on 28 November 1816 and ratified by the

Concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Edi ...

between the Holy See and the Dominican Republic signed on 16 June 1954. The archiepiscopal see is the Santa María la Menor cathedral, a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation, which was designated a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

by Pope Benedict XV in his apostolic letter ''Inter Americae'' on 14 June 1920.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 3,457,347 Catholics (95.0% of 3,639,313 total) on 4,032 km² in 214 parishes with 478 priests (190 diocesan, 288 religious), 159 deacons, 2,845 lay religious (610 brothers, 2,235 sisters) and 284 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

The Metropolitan's

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

sees are : * Roman Catholic Diocese of Baní *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Barahona The Roman Catholic Diocese of Barahona ( la, Dioecesis Barahonensis) (erected 24 April 1976) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo. Ordinaries * Fabio Mamerto Rivas Santos, S.D.B. (1976 - 1999) - Bishop Emeritus * Rafael Le� ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey * Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana * Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís.

History

* The Bull of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, dated 24 June 1493, designated the Franciscan Bernardo Buil (Boil) to accompany

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

on his second voyage of discovery, with faculties as Apostolic delegate or vicar. He did not make the journey, and his

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

near-namesake did. On 30 August 1495, a band of Franciscans and other missioners did arrive in

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...

. * The see was erected on 8 August 1511 by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

by the Bull ''Pontifex Romanus'', which also established the bishoprics of

Concepción de la Vega La Vega, is the fourth largest city and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality of the Dominican Republic. It is in La Vega Province. The city is known as the Carnaval epicenter of the Dominican Republic for its tradition and cultur ...

and the San Juan of Porto Rico, on Antillian Spanish-colonial territory split off from the Archdiocese of Seville. Three prelates, who had been appointed to the sees comprising the ecclesiastical province created in 1504 by the same pope, united their petition to that of the Crown in requesting the Holy See to suppress them and to establish the three new dioceses as suffragans to the See of Seville. This alteration was effected before any of the prelates in question had taken possession of his diocese or been consecrated a bishop. - Father Francisco Garcia de Padilla, a Franciscan, who in 1504 had been designed to occupy the See of Diocese of Bayuna (Baynoa, Baiunensis), was chosen the first bishop of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. He died before his consecration, after having named Rev. Carlos de Aragón his

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and authorized him to take possession of the diocese. The first bishop to occupy the See of Santo Domingo was Alessandro Geraldini, who was appointed in 1516 and died in 1524. He was a native of Italy, and perhaps the only representative of the Americas to attend the

Fifth Lateran Council The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...

. * Lost territories on 1513.08.28 to establish the

Diocese of Santa María la Antigua del Darién 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 associat ...

and on 1517.02.11 to establish the

Diocese of Baracoa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Iacobi in Cuba, links=no) (erected 1518 as the Diocese of Baracoa) is a Metropolitan Archdiocese, responsible for the dioceses of Guantánamo-Baracoa, Holguín and Sa ...

* In 1527 it gained territory from the suppressed

Diocese of Concepción de la Vega The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Vega ( la, Dioecesis Vegensis) (erected 25 September 1953) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros. Bishops Ordinaries * Francisco Panal Ramírez, O.F.M. (1956 - 1965) *Juan Anton ...

, which was united, after the death of its first bishop, Pedro Suárez de Deza, to the See of Santo Domingo. * Lost territories again : on 1531.06.21 to establish the

Diocese of Coro The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Coro ( la, Archidioecesis Corensis) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in western Venezuela.Diocese of Santa Marta, on 1534.12.18 to establish the Diocese of Guatemala (soon its suffragan) and in 1539 to establish the

Diocese of Honduras The Episcopal Diocese of Honduras is an Anglican diocese in Honduras. It forms part of Province IX of the Episcopal Church. The third and current bishop is Lloyd Emmanuel Allen. Bishops # Hugo Pina-Lopez (1978-1980) # Leo Frade (1984-2000) # L ...

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

on 12 February 1546 elevated Santo Domingo to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Domingo, and the incumbent of the see at the time, Bishop Alonso de Fuenmayor, became its first archbishop. As first the newly Metropolitan see of Santo Domingo had five Caribbean

sees: two Antillian - Diocese of Puerto Rico and Diocese of Santiago (de Cuba) on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

- and three continental :

Diocese of Coro The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Coro ( la, Archidioecesis Corensis) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in western Venezuela.Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

, Diocese of Santa Marta in Colombia and the Diocese of Guatemala (its daughter). *The Archbishop of Santo Domingo was awarded the title of

of the Indies by the bull of

''Divinis praeceptis'' issued on 28 November 1816, and such title was later ratified by the

between the Holy See and the Dominican Republic signed on 16 June 1954. This title was given in recognition of the diocese being the first in the Americas, despite the fact that the Diocese of Gardar has centuries before been established in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

and since abandoned. * In 1848 it was demoted as non-metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici (Latin) * Lost (Haitian) territories (French side of

island) on 1861.10.03 to establish Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince The Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince (erected 3 October 1861) is a metropolitan archdiocese, responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Jacmel, Jérémie, Anse-à-Veau and Miragoâne and Les Cayes. The archdiocese was a vacant see following t ...

, Diocese of Cap-Haïtien,

Diocese of Les Cayes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Les Cayes, erected 3 October 1861, is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. History The ecclesiastical province of Port-au-Prince (the archdiocese and the four suffragan dioceses of Cap Haïtien, Gonaives ...

Diocese of Les Gonaives 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 associate ...

and

Diocese of Port-de-Paix The Roman Catholic Diocese of Port-de-Paix ( la, Dioecesis Portus Pacis), erected 3 October 1861, is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cap-Haïtien. Bishops Ordinaries * Paul-Marie Le Bihain, S.M.M. (1928–1935) * Albert-Marie Guiot, S.M.M ...

* Promoted back on 1953.09.25 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici (Latin), having lost more territories to establish

Diocese of Santiago de los Caballeros The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Iacobi Equitum) is a Latin rite Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. History * Established on 25 September 1953 as the Diocese of Santiago de ...

(now Metropolitan), Diocese of La Vega and

Territorial Prelature of San Juan de la Maguana The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Ioannis Maguanensis) (erected 25 September 1953 as the Territorial Prelature of San Juan de la Maguana, elevated 19 November 1969) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdioces ...

(now Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana) * Lost territories thrice later : on 1959.04.01 to establish

Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey 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 associat ...

, on 1986.11.08 to establish

Diocese of Baní In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

and on 1997.02.01 to establish

Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís 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 associ ...

. * It enjoyed Papal visits from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

(January 1979, October 1984 and October 1992.10).

Bishops

Ordinaries

;''Diocese of Santo Domingo'' ''Erected: August 8, 1511'' * Francisco Garcia de Padilla, O.F.M. (1511–1515) Died ''(in Latin)'' * Alejandro Geraldini (1516–1524) Died *

Luis de Figueroa Luis de Figueroa, OSH (died March 23, 1523) was a Roman Catholic monk who served as co-governor of Santo Domingo (1516–1519) and bishop elect of Santo Domingo but died before his consecration.O.S.H. (1523–1526), Died, never consecrated * Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (1527–1538), Appointed,

Bishop of Tui The Diocese of Tui-Vigo is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northwestern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela.

;''Archdiocese of Santo Domingo'' ''Elevated February 12, 1546''

Coadjutor archbishops

Elías Rodríguez Ortiz Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several h ...

(1857); did not succeed to the see *

Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla (12 December 1862, Santo Domingo – 26 June 1937) was an archbishop, educator and interim president of the Dominican Republic. Early life and education Nouel was born to Carlos Rafael Nouel y Pierret, a Do ...

(1904–1906) *

Luis Antonio de Mena y Steinkoft Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

(1922–1932); did not succeed to the see * Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas (1945–1961); future Cardinal * Hugo Eduardo Polanco Brito (1970–1975); did not succeed to the see; appointed Archbishop (Personal Title) of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey

Auxiliary bishops

Felipe Antonio Gallego Gorgojo Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworth ...

, S.J. (1945–1951) * Príamo Pericles Tejeda Rosario (1975–1986), appointed Bishop of Baní *

Juan Félix Pepén y Soliman ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanis ...

(1975–1995) * Ramón Benito de La Rosa y Carpio (1988–1995), appointed Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey *

Francisco José Arnáiz Zarandona Francisco José Arnáiz Zarandona (March 9, 1925 – February 14, 2014) was a Catholic bishop. Born in Spain, Arnáiz Zarandona was ordained to the priest hold for the Society of Jesus in 1955. In 1988, Aráiz Zarandona was named auxiliary bishop ...

, S.J. (1988–2002) *

Pablo Cedano Cedano Pablo Cedano Cedano (25 January 1936 – 19 November 2018) was a Dominican Republic Roman Catholic bishop. Biography Cedano Cedano was born in the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a count ...

(1996–2013) *

Amancio Escapa Aparici Amancio Escapa Aparicio O.C.D. (30 March 1938 – 5 May 2017) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

O.C.D. The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

(1996–2016) *

(1996–2018) *

Victor Emilio Masalles Pere The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(2010–2016), appointed Bishop of Baní * Víctor Emilio Masalles Pere (2010–present) * Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández (2017–present) *

Jesús Castro Marte Jesús Castro Marte (born 18 March 1966) is a Dominican Catholic bishop, being the bishop of the Diocese of Higüey since 2020. He was previously an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo and titular bishop of Giufi from 2017 to ...

(2017–2020), appointed Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey *

Faustino Burgos Brisman Faustino may refer to: *Faustino (name), including a list of people with the name *Faustino (platform), a physical computing platform * Faustino, an ape in the Kasakela chimpanzee community *Bodegas Faustino The Bodegas Faustino vineyard is loca ...

, C.M. (2017–present) *

José Amable Durán Tineo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(2020–present)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with Google map - data for all sections
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santo Domingo, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in the Dominican Republic * Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces in the Dominican Republic Roman Catholic primates Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 16th century

Religious organizations established in the 1510s 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 ...

1511 establishments in the Spanish Empire Year 1511 (Roman numerals, MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * March 26 - The 1511 Idrija earthquake occurs, with a maximum Mercalli inte ...