The Diocese of Arecibo is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese 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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and consists of half of the northern portion of the island of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, a

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

is the Catedral de San Felipe Apostol located in City of Arecibo. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Isabela, Quebradillas,

Camuy Camuy () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Lares and San Sebastián; east of Quebradillas; and west of Hatillo. Camuy is spread over 12 barrios and Camuy Pueblo (the downtown area and the admini ...

, Hatillo,

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

, Barceloneta,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Manatí,

Vega Baja Vega Baja (, ) is a town and municipality located on the coast of north central Puerto Rico. It is north of Morovis, east of Manatí, and west of Vega Alta. Vega Baja is spread over 13 barrios. The population of the municipality was 54,414 at t ...

, Vega Alta,

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lares ...

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

Ciales Ciales (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, located on the Central Mountain Range, northwest of Orocovis; south of Florida and Manatí; east of Utuado and Jayuya; and west of Morovis. Ciales is spread over eight barrios and Ciales P ...

Morovis Morovis (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, north of Orocovis, south of Manatí, Vega Baja and Vega Alta; east of Ciales, and west of Corozal. Morovis is spread over 13 barrios and Mor ...

, Corozal, and Orocovis.

History

The See of Arecibo was canonically erected on 30 April 1960 and is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Joannis Portoricensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, comprising the northeast portion of the island of ...

Bishops

The list of ordinaries (bishops of the diocese) and their terms of service: #

Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez Alfredo José Isaac Cecilio Francesco Méndez-Gonzalez (June 3, 1907 – January 28, 1995) was an American Catholic bishop who served in Puerto Rico and who later became involved with sedevacantists. Biography Early life Alfredo Méndez-Gon ...

, C.S.C. (1960–1974) # Miguel Rodriguez Rodriguez, C.Ss.R. (1974–1990) #

Iñaki Mallona Txertudi Iñaki Mallona Txertudi C.P. (July 1, 1932 – May 3, 2021) was a Spanish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Arecibo in Puerto Rico from 1992 to 2010 Biography Early life and ordination Txert ...

, C.P. (1991–2010) #

Daniel Fernández Torres Daniel Fernández Torres (born April 27, 1964) is a Puerto Rican prelate of the Catholic Church who was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arecibo from 2010 to 2022. He spent the years 2007 to 2010 as an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Ca ...

, (2010–2022) #

Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales (born August 9, 1961) is a Puerto Rican prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arecibo, Diocese of Arecibo in Puerto Rico since 2022. He served as an auxiliary bishop of ...

, (2022–)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Enrique Manuel Hernández Rivera, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Juan in 1979 *

(priest here, 1990–1991), appointed auxiliary bishop of San Juan in 2019

San Juan Archdiocese bankruptcy

On 7 September 2018, Judge Edward Godoy ruled that the bankruptcy filed by the Archdiocese of San Juan would also apply to every Catholic diocese in Puerto Rico, including Arecibo, and that all would now have their assets protected under

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

References

External links

Diócesis de Arecibo
(Official Site in Spanish)

GCatholic.org website 1960 establishments in Puerto Rico

Christian organizations established in 1960