The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Guaira (Latin: Dioecesis Guairiensis) is a diocese located in the city of La Guaira in the ecclesiastical province of Caracas in Venezuela.
Diocese of La Guaira Dioecesis Guairiensis | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country |  Venezuela |
| Ecclesiastical province | Caracas |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,497 km2 (578 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2004) 325,000 295,750 (91.0%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 15 April 1970 (54 years ago) |
| Cathedral | St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Bishop Raúl Biord Castillo, S.D.B. |
| Map | |
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History edit
On 15 April 1970 Pope Paul VI established the Diocese of La Guaira from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Caracas.
Our Lady of Lourdes Pilgrimage edit
La Guaira is home to the oldest pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes in Latin America. The devotion began in 1884 when a Venezuelan priest, Fr Machado, returned from a pilgrimage to the original Lourdes grotto in France. He established a shrine in the mountain of El Ávila. Every year, with only very few exceptions, a 20 Km pilgrimage takes place along the Camiño de los Españoles, beginning in Puerto Caracas and ending in the church of St Sebastian, in Maiquetía.[1]
Bishops edit
Ordinaries edit
- Marcial Augusto Ramírez Ponce (1970.04.15 – 1972.12.05), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela
- Francisco de Guruceaga Iturriza (1973.10.02 – 2001.10.18)
- José de la Trinidad Valera Angulo (2001.10.18 – 2011.10.12), appointed Bishop of Guanare
- Raúl Biord Castillo, S.D.B. (2013.11.30 - )
Coadjutor bishop edit
- Rafael Ramón Conde Alfonzo (1997-1999), did not succeed to see; appointed Bishop of Margarita
Other priest of this diocese who became bishop edit
- Ricardo Aldo Barreto Cairo, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela in 2019
See also edit
References edit
- ^ ACN (2024-02-07). "Venezuela marks 140 years of the first Lourdes pilgrimage in the Americas". ACN International. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
External links edit
10°36′04″N 66°55′53″W / 10.6012°N 66.9313°W
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