Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo

Archdiocese of Santo Domingo Archidioecesis Sancti Dominici Arquidiócesis de Santo Domingo
Basílica Catedral Metropolitana Santa María de la Encarnación
Location
Country	Dominican Republic
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Santo Domingo
Metropolitan	Santo Domingo
Statistics
Area	4,033 km2 (1,557 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 5,770,529 4,890,250 (84.7%)
Parishes	212
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	8 August 1511 (506 years ago)
Cathedral	Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Incarnation
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Francisco Ozoria Acosta
Emeritus Bishops	Pablo Cedano Cedano, Amancio Escapa Aparicio, Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez
Map

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo (Latin: Archidioecesis Sancti Dominici; Spanish: Arquidiócesis de Santo Domingo) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. The see was erected 8 August 1511 as the Diocese of Santo Domingo and elevated to archdiocese on 12 February 1546.

In recognition of the fact that the see was the first established in the Western Hemisphere, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo can use the title of Primate of the Americas, according to the bull of Pope Pius VII Divinis praeceptis issued on 28 November 1816 and ratified by the Concordat between the Holy See and the Dominican Republic signed on 16 June 1954.

The archiepiscopal see is the Santa María la Menor cathedral, a World Heritage Site, dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation, which was designated a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in his apostolic letter Inter Americae on 14 June 1920.^[1]

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 3,457,347 Catholics (95.0% of 3,639,313 total) on 4,032 km² in 214 parishes with 478 priests (190 diocesan, 288 religious), 159 deacons, 2,845 lay religious (610 brothers, 2,235 sisters) and 284 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

The Metropolitan's suffragan sees are :

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Baní
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Barahona
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey
• Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana
• Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís.

History

• The Bull of Pope Alexander VI, dated 24 June 1493, designated the Franciscan Bernardo Buil (Boil) to accompany Christopher Columbus on his second voyage of discovery, with faculties as Apostolic delegate or vicar. He did not make the journey, and his Benedictine near-namesake did. On 30 August 1495, a band of Franciscans and other missioners did arrive in Hispaniola.^[2]
• The see was erected on 8 August 1511 by Pope Julius II by the Bull Pontifex Romanus, which also established the bishoprics of Concepción de la Vega and the San Juan of Porto Rico, on Antillian Spanish-colonial territory split off from the Archdiocese of Seville. Three prelates, who had been appointed to the sees comprising the ecclesiastical province created in 1504 by the same pope, united their petition to that of the Crown in requesting the Holy See to suppress them and to establish the three new dioceses as suffragans to the See of Seville. This alteration was effected before any of the prelates in question had taken possession of his diocese or been consecrated a bishop. - Father Francisco Garcia de Padilla, a Franciscan, who in 1504 had been designed to occupy the See of Diocese of Bayuna (Baynoa, Baiunensis), was chosen the first Bishop of Santo Domingo. He died before his consecration, after having named Rev. Carlos de Aragón his vicar-general and authorized him to take possession of the diocese. The first bishop to occupy the See of Santo Domingo was Alessandro Geraldini, who was appointed in 1516 and died in 1524. He was a native of Italy, and perhaps the only representative of the Americas to attend the Fifth Lateran Council.
• Lost territories on 1513.08.28 to establish the Diocese of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and on 1517.02.11 to establish the Diocese of Baracoa
• In 1527 it gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of Concepción de la Vega, which was united, after the death of its first bishop, Pedro Suárez de Deza, to the See of Santo Domingo.
• Lost territories again : on 1531.06.21 to establish the Diocese of Coro (soon its suffragan), on 1534.01.10 to establish the Diocese of Santa Marta, on 1534.12.18 to establish the Diocese of Guatemala (soon its suffragan) and in 1539 to establish the Diocese of Honduras
• Pope Paul III on 12 February 1546 elevated Santo Domingo to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Domingo, and the incumbent of the see at the time, Bishop Alonso de Fuenmayor, became its first archbishop. As first the newly Metropolitan see of Santo Domingo had five Caribbean [suffragan]] sees: two Antillian -Diocese of Puerto Rico and Diocese of Santiago (de Cuba) on Cuba- and three continental : Diocese of Coro (its daughter) in Venezuela, Diocese of Santa Marta in Colombia and the Diocese of Guatemala (its daughter).
• In 1848 it was demoted as non-metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici (Latin)
• Lost (Haitian) territories (French side of Hispaniola island) on 1861.10.03 to establish Metropolitan Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Diocese of Cap-Haïtien, Diocese of Les Cayes, Diocese of Les Gonaives and Diocese of Port-de-Paix
• Promoted back on 1953.09.25 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici (Latin), having lost more territories to establish Diocese of Santiago de los Caballeros (now Metropolitan), Diocese of La Vega and Territorial Prelature of San Juan de la Maguana (now Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana)
• Lost territories thrice later : on 1959.04.01 to establish Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey, on 1986.11.08 to establish Diocese of Baní and on 1997.02.01 to establish Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís.
• It enjoyed Papal visits from Pope John Paul II (January 1979, October 1984 and October 1992.10).

Episcopal Ordinaries

(all Roman Rite)

Suffragan Bishops of Santo Domingo

• Francisco Garcia de Padilla, Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (Spaniard?) (1511.08.13 – death 1515.11.11), previously Bishop of Bayuna (Dominican Republic) (1504.11.15 – 1511.08.13)
• Alessandro Geraldini (as Alejandro) (Italian) (1516.11.23 – death 1524.03.08), previously Bishop of Montecorvino (1496 – 1516.11.23), Bishop of Vulturara (1496 – 1516.11.23)
• Father Luis de Figueroa, Hieronymites (O.S.H.) (1523 – death 1526), never consecrated^[3]
• Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (1528.12.23 – 1538.07.29) (born Spain), next Bishop of Tui(Spain) (1538.07.29 – 1539.10.29), Bishop of León (Spain) (1539.10.29 – 1542.06.02), Bishop of Cuenca (Spain) (1542.06.02 – death 1547.01.22)
  • Auxiliary Bishop Alfonso de Talavera, O.S.H. (1531.09.06 – death 1540), no titular see of other prelature
• Alfonso de Fuenmayor (born Spain) (1538.10.27 – 1546.02.11 see below),

Metropolitan Archbishops of Santo Domingo

• Alfonso de Fuenmayor (see above 1546.02.11 – death 1554.03.01)
• Archbishop-elect Diego de Covarrubias y Leiva (born Spain) (1556–1560), next Archbishop-Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo (Spain) (1560.01.26 – 1564.10.25), Archbishop-Bishop of Segovia (Spain) (1564.10.25 – 1577.09.06), Archbishop-Bishop of Cuenca (Spain) (1577.09.06 – death 1577.09.27)
• Juan Salcedo (bishop) (born Spain) (1562 – death 1566)
• Juan Alzóloras (Arzolaras), O.S.H. (1566.02.15 – 1568.09.17), next Archbishop-Bishop of Islas Canarias (overseas Spain) (1568.09.17 – death 1574.05.07)
• Francisco Andrés de Carvajal, Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1570.05.10 – death 1577.08.28); previously Bishop of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico) (1568.06.02 – 1570.05.10)
• Alfonso López de Avila (1580.03.14 – 1591.11.29), next Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (Colombia) (1591.11.29 – death 1591.12.30)
• Nicolás de Ramos y Santos, O.F.M. (1592.07.13 – death 1599.12.01)
• Agustín Dávila Padilla, Order of Preachers (O.P.) (1599.08.17 – death 1604.07.26)
• Domingo Valderrama y Centeno, O.P. (1606–1608), next Archbishop-bishop of La Paz (Bolivia) (1608.05.28 – death 1616)
• Cristóbal Rodríguez Juárez, O.P. (1608.06.02 – 1612.10.07), next Archbishop-bishop of Arequipa (Peru) (1612.10.07 – 1613.11.04)
• Diego de Contreras, Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) (1612.06.18 – death 1618.04.24)
• Pedro de Solier y Vargas, O.S.A. (1619.12.16 – death 1620.07.09) (Spaniard), previously Bishop of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico) (1614.11.17 – 1619.12.16)
• Pedro de Oviedo Falconi, Cistercian Order (O. Cist.) (1621.01.22 – 1628.07.10), next Archbishop-Bishop of Quito (Ecuador) (1628.07.10 – 1645.08.21), Metropolitan Archbishop of La Plata (Bolivia) (1645.08.21 – death 1649.10.18)
• Fernando de Vera y Zuñiga, O.S.A. (1628.11.13 – 1629.07.16) (born Spain), previously Titular Bishop of Bugia (1614.02.17 – 1628.11.13) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Badajoz (Spain) (1614.02.17 – 1628.11.13; later Archbishop-bishop of Cuzco (1629.07.16 – death 1638.11.09)
• Bernardino de Almansa Carrión (born Peru) (1629.09.17 – 1631.12.15), next Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (now Bogota, Colombia) (1631.12.15 – death 1633.09.26)
• Facundo de la Torre, Order of Saint Benedict (O.S.B.) (1632.01.02 – death 1640.09.25)
• Diego de Guevara y Estrada (born Mexico) (1642.01.13 – death 1642.04)
• Maestro Valderas, Merdedarians (O. de M.) (1647 – ?resigned 1648)
• Francisco Pio Guadalupe Téllez (born Spain) (1648.11.23 – death 1660.03.05)
• Francisco de la Cueva Maldonado (1662.08.21 – death 1667.10.15)
• Juan de Escalante Turcios y Mendoza (1673.02.27 – 1677.03.20), next Archbishop-Bishop of Diocese of Yucatán (Mexico) (1677.03.20 – death 1681.05.31
• Domingo Fernández Navarrete, Order of Preachers (O.P.) (born Spain) (1682.05.04 – death 1686.02.26)
• Fernando de Carvajal y Ribera, O. de M. (born Spain) (1687.03.03 – death 1700.04.16)
• Francisco del Rincón, O.M. (born Spain) (1705–1714), next Archbishop-Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela (Venezuela) (1714.02.26 – 1716.10.05), Metropolitan Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (Colombia) (1716.10.05 – death 1723.06.28)
• Antonio Claudio Alvarez de Quiñones (born Spain) (1717.04.12 – 1725.01.29), next Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (Colombia) (1725.01.29 – 1736.10.21)
• Francisco Mendigaña y Armendáriz (born Spain) (1726.04.08 – death 1728.10.30)
• Juan de Galavís = Juan de Galabis, Norbertines (O. Praem.) (born Spain) (1729.05.28 – 1738.03.03)), next Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (Colombia) (1738.03.03 –death 1739.11.14)
• Domingo Pantaleón Álvarez de Abreu (born Spain) (1738.03.03 – 1743.05.20), next Archbishop-Bishop of Puebla de los Angeles) (1743.05.20 – death 1763.11.28) (now Tlaxcala, Mexico)
• Ignacio Padilla Estrada, Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) (born Mexico) (1743–1753), next Archbishop-Bishop of Yucatán (Mexico) (1753.05.28 – death 1760.07.20)
• José Moreno Guriel, Trinitarians (O.SS.T.) (born Spain) (1753.05.21 – death 1755.11.27)
• Felipe Ruiz Ausmendi (born Spain) (1757.03.28 – death 1766.09.08)
• Isidro Rodríguez Lorenzo, O.S.Bas. (born Spain) (1767.12.14 – retired 1788.09.12), died 1793; previously Bishop of Comayagua (Honduras) (1764.12.17 – 1767.12.14)
• Fernando del Portillo y Torres, O.P. (born Spain) (1788–1798), next Bishop of Trujillo (Peru) (1798.06 – 1798.07.03 not possessed), Metropolitan Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (Colombia) (1798.10.29 – death 1804.01.20)
• Pedro Valera y Jiménez (born Spain) (1814.04.14 – death 1833.03.19)

Non-Metropolitan Archbishops of Santo Domingo

BIOs to ELABORATE

• Tomás de Portes e Infante (first 'native' incumbent : born Dominican Republic) (1848.01.20 – 1858.04.08)
• Fathe. Antonio Cerezano Camarena (1860.01.27 – 1860.07.11)
• Bienvenudo Monzon y Martin (born Spain) (1862–1866) Died
• Leopoldo Angelo Santanchè, O.F.M. (born Italy) (1871.03.08 – 1874.11.13)
• Rocco Cocchia, O.F.M. Cap. (born Spain) (1874.07.13 – 1883.08.09)
• Fernando Antonio Arturo de Meriño y Ramírez (1885–1906) Died
• Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla (born Dominican Republic) (1906–1935) Resigned

Metropolitan Archbishops of Santo Domingo

BIOs to ELABORATE

• Ricardo Pittini, Salesians (S.D.B.) (born Italy) (1935–1961) Died
  • Auxiliary Bishop: Felipe Antonio Gallego Gorgojo, S.J. (1945.05.02 – 1951)
• Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas (1961–1981) Retired
  • Auxiliary Bishop: Príamo Pericles Tejeda Rosario (1975.05.10 – 1986.11.08)
  • Auxiliary Bishop: Juan Félix Pepén y Soliman (1975.05.12 – 1995.02.11)
• Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (1981–2016)
  • Auxiliary Bishop: Francisco José Arnáiz Zarandona (1988.12.02 – 2002.07.31)
  • Auxiliary Bishop: Ramón Benito de La Rosa y Carpio (later Archbishop) (1988.12.02 – 1995.03.25)
  • Auxiliary bishop: Pablo Cedano Cedano (1996–2013); emeritus^[4]
  • Auxiliary bishop Amancio Escapa Aparicio, O.C.D. (1996–2016)
  • Auxiliary bishop Victor Emilio Masalles Pere (2010 – 2017)
• Francisco Ozoria Acosta (2016 - ...)
  • Auxiliary Bishop (2017.07.01 – ...) Bishop-elect Jesús Castro Marte, Titular Bishop of Giufi (2017.07.01 – ...).

See also

• List of Catholic dioceses in the Dominican Republic
• Timeline of Santo Domingo

References

Sources and external links

• GCatholic, with Google map - data for all sections
• "Archdiocese of Santo Domingo". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2012-05-13. 

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Archdiocese of Santo Domingo". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 

Coordinates: 18°28′23″N 69°53′02″W / 18.47306°N 69.88389°W / 18.47306; -69.88389