Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce explained

Jurisdiction:Diocese
Ponce
Latin:Dioecesis Poncensis
Local:Diócesis de Ponce
Coat:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Ponce.svg
Coat Caption:Coat of arms
Country: Puerto Rico
Territory:Southern portion of Puerto Rico
Province:San Juan de Puerto Rico
Area Km2:2,045
Population:593,548
Population As Of:2004
Catholics:474,959[1]
Catholics Percent:80
Parishes:42
Denomination:Catholic
Sui Iuris Church:Latin Church
Rite:Roman Rite
Established:21 November 1924 (years ago)
Cathedral:Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Bishop:Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina
Bishop Title:Bishop
Emeritus Bishops:Félix Lázaro Martínez

The Diocese of Ponce (Latin: Dioecesis Poncensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States and consists of the southern part of the island of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States. The diocese is led by a prelate bishop who pastors the mother church in the City of Ponce, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Its current bishop is S.E.R. Mons. Rubén Antonio González Medina, C.M.F. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Guánica, Guayanilla, Yauco, Peñuelas, Ponce, Juana Díaz, Villalba, Coamo, Santa Isabel, Salinas, Guayama, Arroyo, and Patillas.[2]

History

In 1978, Bishop Fremiot Torres Oliver acquired a large property in the Rio Chiquito sector of Barrio Portugués where the Diocese is currently (2019) located.[3]

Spanish colonial system

Under the Spanish colonial system (1692–1898) the Diocese of Ponce operated and its bishop in 1877 was Juan Puig.[4] From 25 October 1892 to 1897, the bishop was Lorenzo Roura y Bayer.[5]

Other Padres Paules bishops at the Cathedral were:[6]

From 1970 on, Padres Paules left Ponce and the Cathedral was then run by the Diocese of Ponce directly.[7]

Commonwealth

The See of Ponce was canonically erected on 21 November 1924, and is a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Province of San Juan de Puerto Rico.[8]

San Juan Archdiocese bankruptcy

On 7 September 2018, Judge Edward Godoy ruled that the bankruptcy filed by the Archdiocese of San Juan would also apply to every Catholic diocese in Puerto Rico, including Ponce, and that all would now have their assets protected under Chapter 11.[9] [10]

Bishops

Bishops of Ponce

  1. Edwin Byrne (1925–1929), appointed Bishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico
  2. Aloysius Joseph Willinger (1929–1946), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Fresno
  3. James Edward McManus (1947–1963), resigned
  4. Luis Aponte Martinez (1963–1964), appointed Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico
  5. Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver (1964–2000), retired
  6. Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (2000–2003), retired
  7. Félix Lázaro Martínez (2003–2015), retired
  8. Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina, C.M.F. (2015–present)[11]

Coadjutor bishops

Auxiliary bishops

Parish churches

Parish churches listed by founding dates:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dponc.html Diocese of Ponce: Statistics.
  2. http://www.diocesisdeponce.org/ Diocesis de Ponce.
  3. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas Para Su Historia. p. 20
  4. Ramon Marin. La Villa de Ponce Considerada en tres distintas épocas: Estudio Histórico, Descriptivo, y Estadístico, hasta fines del año 1876. Ponce, PR: Establecimiento Tipográfico "El Vapor". 1877. (Section III of Ramon Marin's Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. p.191. San Juan, PR: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994.)
  5. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce: Notas para su Historia. San Juan, PR: Comite Historia de los Pueblos. Segunda Edición. 1986. p. 18.
  6. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para Su Historia. 1986. pp. 18-19.
  7. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para Su Historia. 1986. p. 19.
  8. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dponc.html Diocese of Ponce: General Information.
  9. Web site: Federal judge decides that bankruptcy filing applies to all of Puerto Rico's Roman Catholic churches . Pasquines. 27 September 2018 . May 4, 2021.
  10. Web site: Judge: Bankruptcy applies to all Puerto Rico Catholic churches. 7 September 2018. Caribbean Business.
  11. http://www.pionet.org/ Diocesis of Ponce