The Territorial Prelature of Santo Cristo de Esquípulas () is a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
territorial prelature
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
located in the city of
Esquipulas,
Chiquimula
Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name.
It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La p ...
in Guatemala.
History
* September 16, 1956: Established as Territorial Prelature of Santo Cristo de Esquípulas from the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Zacapa
Special churches
*Minor Basilicas:
**
Basílica del Cristo Negro de Esquipulas, Esquipulas, Chiquimula
Leadership
*
Prelates of Santo Cristo de Esquípulas (Roman rite)
** Archbishop
Mariano Rossell y Arellano (1956)
** Bishop
Costantino Cristiano Luna Pianegonda, O.F.M. (September 16, 1956 – February 16, 1980)
** Bishop
Rodolfo Quezada Toruño (later
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
) (June 24, 1986 – June 19, 2001)
** Bishop
José Aníbal Casasola Sosa (May 13, 2004 – April 27, 2007)
** Bishop Rosolino Bianchetti Boffelli (November 20, 2008 – present)
References
GCatholic.org
Roman Catholic dioceses in Guatemala
Christian organizations established in 1956
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
Territorial prelatures
{{RC-diocese-stub