The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zárate-Campana () is a

Latin rite Latin Rite may refer to: *The Latin Church, a ''sui iuris'' church of the Catholic Church *The Latin liturgical rites, a family of Christian rites and uses which includes the Roman Rite *The Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritua ...

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 Alexandr ...

in the

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 ...

of the Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján, in central

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast, having had a change of metropolitan from La Plata in 2019. 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 ...

episcopal see is Catedral Santa Florentina, dedicated to

Saint Florentina Florentina of Cartagena (died ca. 612) is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Born towards the middle of the sixth century in Cartagena, Spain, Cartagena, Hispania, she and her family were actively engaged in furthering the best interest ...

, in Campana, and it also has a

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

: Cocatedral Natividad del Señor, dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lord, in

Belén de Escobar Belén de Escobar (or Escobar) is a city in the urban conurbation of Greater Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat for Escobar Partido. The city has an important Japanese Argentine population; its Ja ...

, also in

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

History

It was created by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

on 21 April 1976, by the

Papal Bulla A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal ('' bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal bulls have been in use at l ...

"Qui consilio divino" as Diocese of Zárate–Campana / Zaraten(sis)–Campanen(sis) (Latin adjective), on territories split off from the

Diocese of San Isidro 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 associated ...

and from the

Diocese of San Nicolás de los Arroyos 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 associated ...

. The first bishop,

Claretian The Claretians, officially named the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (; abbreviated CMF), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men headquartered in Rome. It was f ...

Mgr. Alfredo Mario Espósito Castro, chosen by Paul VI on 21 April 1976, received his episcopal consecration and took possession of the see on 4 July 1976.

Extent and statistics

As of 2014, it pastorally served 660,000 Catholics (90.7% of 728,000 total) on 5,924 km² in 33 parishes and 89 missions with 88 priests (53 diocesan, 35 religious), 13 deacons, 178 lay religious (88 brothers, 90 sisters) and 27 seminarians. It includes the cities of Campana (credited in its title), (Belén de) Escobar, Zarate, Baradero, Pilar, Exaltación de la Cruz and San Antonio de Areco, all in the northern part of

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires (, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of B ...

Bishops

Episcopal ordinaries

Alfredo Mario Espósito Castro Alfredo Mario Espósito Castro (20 May 1927 – 1 January 2010) was the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Zárate-Campana, Catholic Diocese of Zárate-Campana, Argentina. Espósito Castro was of Argentine nationality, although he was bo ...

Claretians The Claretians, officially named the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (; abbreviated CMF), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men headquartered in Rome. It was f ...

(C.M.F.) (1976.04.21 – resigned because of health reasons on 18 December 1991), died 2010 *

Rafael Eleuterio Rey Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

(18 December 1991 (took see on 21 March 1992 – resigned because of health reasons 3 February 2006); previously

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 ...

Hilta {{refimprove, date=November 2015 :''See St Kilda, Scotland for the island also referred to as Hilta'' Hilta was an ancient city and former bishopric in Roman Africa, in the north of modern Tunisia. It is now a Latin Catholic titular see. History ...

(1983.04.30 – 1991.12.18) as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Archdiocese of Mendoza (Argentina) (1983.04.30 – 1991.12.18) * Oscar Domingo Sarlinga (3 February 2006 – retired 2015.11.03), previously Titular Bishop of

Uzalis El Alia is a town and commune in the Bizerte Governorate, Tunisia. It was the ancient Uzalis in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, which became a Christian bishopric that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees. It is ...

(2003.04.12 – 2006.02.03) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Mercedes–Luján (Argentina) (2003.04.12 – 2006.02.03) * Pedro Maria Laxague (3 November 2015 – ...), previously Titular Bishop of

Castra Severiana Castra Severiana was an ancient Roman-era town of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis, in North Africa during late antiquity. The town in modern Algeria has been tentatively identified with ruins at Sidi-Ali-Ben-Joub (Chanzy) or Lalla ...

(2006.11.14 – 2015.11.03) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca 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 associated ...

(Argentina) (2006.11.14 – 2015.11.03).

Auxiliary bishop

* Justo Rodríguez Gallego (appointed 2020) (2021–

References

External links

GCatholic, with Google map & satellite photo - data for all sections
Roman Catholic dioceses in Argentina Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Mercedes-Luján

Religious organizations established in 1976 Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, tr ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century

1976 establishments in Argentina Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Roman Catholic bishops of Zárate-Campana {{Argentina-RC-diocese-stub