Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Asunción

Archdiocese of Asunción

Archidioecesis Sanctissimae Assumptionis

Arquidiócesis de la Santísima Asunción
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Asunción
Location
Country Paraguay
TerritoryAsunción
Ecclesiastical provinceAsunción
Statistics
Area997 sq mi (2,580 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2015)
1,839,000
1,664,000 (90.5%)
Parishes76
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteRoman Rite
Established1 July 1547
CathedralCathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption
Secular priests81
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Metropolitan ArchbishopAdalberto Martínez Flores
Bishops emeritusEdmundo Valenzuela, SDB
Map
Website
www.arzobispado.org.py

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Blessed Assumption (Latin: Archidioecesis Sanctissimae Assumptionis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Paraguay.[1][2]

It was created as the Diocese of Paraguay by Pope Paul III on July 1, 1547, and was elevated to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Pius XI on May 1, 1929, with the suffragan sees of Benjamín Aceval, Caacupé, Carapeguá, Ciudad del Este, Concepción, Coronel Oviedo, Encarnación, San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, San Lorenzo, San Pedro, and Villarrica del Espíritu Santo.

The archdiocese's mother church and thus seat of its archbishop is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. As the only metropolitan in Paraguay, it is the principal episcopal see of that country. The archdiocese has 1.58 million Catholics (90.6%) in 2012.

Archbishop Flores succeeded to the see on March 6, 2022.

Bishops

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Ordinaries

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Diocese of Paraguay

Erected: 1 July 1547
Latin Name: de Paraguay

  1. Juan de los Barrios, O.F.M. (1547–1552), appointed Bishop of Santa Marta, Colombia
  2. Pedro de la Torre, O.F.M. (1554–1573)
  3. Alfonso Guerra (bishop), O.P. (1579–1592), appointed Bishop of Michoacán, México
  4. Thomas Vásquez de Liaño (1596–1599)[3]
  5. Martín Ignacio de Loyola (1601–1608)[3]
  6. Reginaldo de Lizárraga, O.P. (1609)[3]
  7. Lorenzo Pérez de Grado (1615–1619),[3] appointed Bishop of Cuzco, Peru
  8. Tomás de la Torre Gibaja, O.P. (1620–1628),[3] appointed Bishop of Córdoba (Tucumán), Argentina
  9. Cristóbal de Aresti Martínez de Aguilar, O.S.B. (1629–1635),[3] appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
  10. Francisco de la Serna, O.E.S.A. (1635–1638),[3] appointed Bishop of Popayán, Colombia
  11. Bernardino de Cárdenas Ponce, O.F.M. (1640–1666),[3] appointed Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
  12. Gabriel de Guilléstegui, O.F.M. (1666–1670),[3] appointed Bishop of La Paz, Bolivia
  13. Ferdinandus de Valcácer (1672)
  14. Faustino Casas Hernández, O. de M. (1674–1686)
  15. Sebastián de Pastrana, O. de M. (1693–1700)
  16. Pedro Díaz de Durana (1704–1718)
  17. José Luis Palos Bord, O.F.M. (1724–1738)
  18. José Cayetano Paravicino, O.F.M. (1738–1747), appointed Bishop of Trujillo, Peru
  19. Bernardo José Pérez de Oblitas (1747–1756), appointed Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
  20. Manuel Antonio de la Torre (1756–1762), appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
  21. Emmanuel López de Espinosa (1762–1770)
  22. Juan José Priego y Caro, O.P. (1772–1779)
  23. Luis Velasco y Maeda, O.F.M. (1779–1792)
  24. Lorenzo Suarez de Cantillana (1797–1799)
  25. Nicolás Videla del Pino (1802–1806), appointed Bishop of Salta, Argentina
  26. Pedro García de Panés, O.F.M. (1807–1838)
  27. Basilio López (1844–1859)
  28. Juan Gregorio Urbieta (1860–1865)
  29. Manuel Antonio Palacios (1865–1868)
  30. Pietro Giovanni Aponte (1879–1891)
  31. Juan Sinforiano Bogarín (1894–1949)
Archdiocese of Asunción

Elevated: 1 May 1929
Latin Name: Sanctissimae Assumptionis

  1. Juan José Aníbal Mena Porta (1949–1970)
  2. Ismael Blas Rolón Silvero, S.D.B. (1970–1989)
  3. Felipe Santiago Benítez Ávalos (1989–2002)
  4. Pastor Cuquejo, C.S.S.R. (2002–2014)
  5. Edmundo Valenzuela, S.D.B. (2014– )

Coadjutor bishops

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Auxiliary bishops

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Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cheney, David M. "Archdiocese of Asunción". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. [self-published]
  2. ^ Chow, Gabriel. "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Asunción (Paraguay)". GCatholic.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. [self-published]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. IV. Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. pp. 97–98. (in Latin)
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25°16′54″S 57°37′57″W / 25.2816°S 57.6325°W / -25.2816; -57.6325