Roman Catholic Diocese of Talca

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Talca, (in Latin: Dioecesis Talcensis), is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Santiago de Chile. Its current bishop is Mgr. Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela Abarca. The retired (emeritus) bishop is Mgr. Carlos González Cruchaga.

History

The diocese was established in Talca, Chile by Pope Pius XI on October 18, 1925 by means of the Bulla "Notabiliter Aucto".

Diocesan statistics

The diocese lies in the Maule Region of Chile and covers a territory of 17,000 km². It is comprised by the province of Curicó and by eight municipalities (comunas) of the province of Talca (the parishes of the municipalities of Empedrado and Constitución are jurisdictionally attached to the neighboring diocese of Linares, from an ecclesiastical point of view). The diocese is divided into 42 parishes, grouped in 5 pastoral zones. It is estimated that 78.9% of the diocesan population is Catholic ^[1]. This figure represents about 463,000 Catholics out of a total population of about 587,000 (2002). The diocesan cathedral is in the city of Talca.

Bishops

• Miguel León Prado (apostolic administrator) † (12 June 1913 - 18 October 1925 appointed, auxiliary bishop of Santiago de Chile)
• Carlos Silva Cotapos † (14 December 1925 - 21 January 1939 resigned)
• Manuel Larraín Errázuriz † (21 January 1939 succeeded - 22 June 1966 died)
• Carlos González Cruchaga (4 January 1967 - 12 December 1996 retired)
• Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela Abarca (appointed 12 December 1996 - )

External links

• Website of the diocese (in Spanish)
• Diocese of Talca at the www.catholic-hierarchy.org website

References