Roman Catholic Diocese of Santarém, Brazil

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santarém (Latin: Dioecesis Santaremensis) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Belém do Pará (capital of Pará state) in northern Brazil.

Its cathedral episcopal see is Catedral Nossa Senhora da Conceição, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, in the city of Santarém, Brazil.

History

• Established on 21 September 1903 as Territorial Prelature of Santarém, on territory split off from the then Diocese of Belém do Pará
• Lost territories repeatedly : on 1934.08.16 to establish the Territorial Prelature of Xingu, on 1949.02.01 to establish the then Territorial Prelature of Macapá (now a diocese) and on 1957.04.10 to establish the then Territorial Prelature of Óbidos (now a diocese).
• Promoted on 16 October 1979 as Diocese of Santarém
• Lost territory again on 1988.07.06 to establish the Territorial Prelature of Itaituba.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 316,500 Catholics (70.2% of 451,000 total) on 171,906 km² in 22 parishes with 53 priests (26 diocesan, 27 religious), 90 lay religious (39 brothers, 51 sisters) and 19 seminarians.

Episcopal Ordinaries

(all Roman Rite, mostly foreign missionaries and/or members of Latin congregations)

Territorial Prelates of Santarém

• Frederico Benito da Costa (1903 – death 1907)
• Frederico Benício de Souza e Costa (22 September 1904 – 8 January 1907), next Bishop of Amazonas (Brazil, now Metropolitan Archdiocese of Manaus) (1907.01.08 – 1914.04.16), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Thubunæ in Numidia (1914.04.16 – death 1938.03.26)
• Amando Agostino Bahlmann, Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (born Germany) (10 January 1907 – 5 March 1939), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Argos (1908.07.10 – death 1939.03.05)
• Apostolic Administrator Father Anselmo Pietrulla, O.F.M. (born Poland) (1941 – 1947.12.13 see below)
• Anselmo Pietrulla, O.F.M. (13 December 1947 – 18 June 1949), Titular Bishop of Conana (1947.12.13 – 1949.06.18); later Apostolic Administrator of Territorial Prelature of Macapá (Brazil) (1949 – 1950.01.14), Bishop of Campina Grande (Brazil) (1949.06.18 – 1955.05.11), Bishop of Tubarão (Brazil) (1955.05.11 – retired 1981.09.17), died 1992
• João Floriano Loewenau, O.F.M. (born Poland) (8 September 1950 – 12 September 1957), Titular Bishop of Drivastum (1950.09.08 – death 1979.06.04), also next as Bishop-Prelate of Óbidos (Brazil) (1957.09.12 – 1972) and on emeritate
• Tiago Miguel Ryan, O.F.M. (born USA) (31 January 1958 – 16 October 1979 see below), Titular Bishop of Margum (1958.01.31 – 1978.05.26)

Suffragan Bishops of Santarém

• Tiago Miguel Ryan, O.F.M. (see above 16 October 1979 – retired 27 November 1985), died 2002
• Lino Vomboemmel, O.F.M. (27 November 1985 – death 28 February 2007); formerly Titular Bishop of Iunca in Byzacena (1981.05.25 – 1983.06.09), first as Auxiliary Bishop of Santarém (1981.05.25 – 1983.06.09) and then as Coadjutor Bishop of Santarém (1983.06.09 – succession 1985.11.27)
• Esmeraldo Barreto de Farias (28 February 2007 – 30 November 2011), previously Bishop of Paulo Afonso (Brazil) (2000.03.22 – 2007.02.28); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Porto Velho (Brazil) (2011.11.30 – 2015.03.18), then Titular Bishop of Summula (2015.03.18 – ...) as Auxiliary Bishop of São Luís do Maranhão (Brazil) (2015.03.18 – ...)
• Flávio Giovenale, Salesians of Don Bosco (S.D.B.) (19 September 2012 – ... ), previously Bishop of Abaetetuba (Brazil) (1997.10.08 – 2012.09.19).

See also

• List of Catholic dioceses in Brazil

Sources and external links

Wikisource has the text of a 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article about Santarem.

• GCatholic.org, with Google map and satellite photo - data for all sections
• Catholic Hierarchy
•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Santarem". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.