Diocese of Arecibo
Latin Catholic jurisdiction in Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Diocese of Arecibo (Latin: Dioecesis Arecibensis Spanish: Diócesis de Arecibo) is a diocese of the Catholic Church and consists of half of the northern portion of the island of Puerto Rico,[1] a commonwealth of the United States. The mother church is the Catedral de San Felipe Apostol located in City of Arecibo.
Puerto RicoDiocese of Arecibo Dioecesis Arecibensis Diócesis de Arecibo | |
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 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | Puerto Rico |
| Territory | Half of the northern portion of the island of Puerto Rico[1] |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province of San Juan de Puerto Rico |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 833 sq mi (2,160 km2) |
Population
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| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 30 April 1960 (66 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Catedral de San Felipe Apóstol |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Roberto González Nieves, O.F.M. |
| Bishops emeritus | Daniel Fernández Torres |
| Map | |
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History
The See of Arecibo was canonically erected on 30 April 1960 and is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Isabela, Quebradillas, Camuy, Hatillo, Arecibo, Barceloneta, Florida, Manatí, Vega Baja, Vega Alta, Lares, Utuado, Ciales, Morovis, Corozal, and Orocovis.[2]
San Juan Archdiocese bankruptcy
On 7 September 2018, a federal judge 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.[3][4]
Bishops
The list of ordinaries (bishops of the diocese) and their terms of service:
- Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez, C.S.C. (1960–1974)
- Miguel Rodriguez Rodriguez, C.Ss.R. (1974–1990)
- Iñaki Mallona Txertudi, C.P. (1991–2010)
- Daniel Fernández Torres, (2010–2022)[5]
- Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales, (2022–)
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
- Enrique Manuel Hernández Rivera, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Juan in 1979
- Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales (priest here, 1990–1991), appointed auxiliary bishop of San Juan in 2019
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