Diocese of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones
Roman Catholic diocese in Paraguay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan Bautista (de las Misiones) (Latin: Dioecesis Sancti Ioannis Baptistae a Missionibus) is a southern suffragan Latin Catholic diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Asunción, which covers all of Paraguay (except the pre-diocesan missions).[1][2]
- Total
- Catholics
- (as of 2004)
- 201,000
- 198,000 (98.5%)
Diocese of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones Dioecesis Sancti Ioannis Baptistae a Missionibus | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Paraguay |
| Metropolitan | Asunción |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 21,703 km2 (8,380 sq mi) |
Population
|
|
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Osmar López Benítez |
| Bishops emeritus | Mario Melanio Medina Pedro Collar |
| Map | |
| |
History
- On January 19, 1957, the Diocese of San Juan Bautista (de Las Misiones) was established on territories split off from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Asunción and from the Diocese of Villarrica.
Special churches
Its cathedral episcopal see is Catedral San Juan Bautista, dedicated to John the Baptist, in the city of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones in Misiones Department
It also has a Minor Basilica : the Marian Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar, dedicated to Our Lady of Pilar, in Pilar, Paraguay, Ñeembucu.
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 227,000 Catholics (98.3% of 231,000 total) on 21,700 km2 in 30 parishes and 139 missions with 35 priests (19 diocesan, 16 religious), 2 deacons, 63 lay religious (18 brothers, 45 sisters) and 5 seminarians.
Leadership
| No. | Name | Episcopacy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ramón Bogarín Argaña (1911–1976) |
19 January 1957 – 3 September 1973 |
| 2 | Carlos Milcíades Villaba (1924–2016) |
25 July 1978 – 22 July 1999 |
| 3 | Mario Melanio Medina[a] (b. 1939) |
22 July 1999 – 16 February 2017 |
| 4 | Pedro Collar (b. 1963) |
21 January 1957 – 19 December 2023 |
| 5 | Osmar López Benítez[3] (b. 1975) |
5 May 2025 – Incumbent |
.svg){kind=small}