The Catholic Church in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and the Peruvian

Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

. Catholics compose an estimated 74% of Peru's population. It has produced two famous saints of the "new world": St. Rose of Lima and

St. Martin de Porres Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...

. The Peruvian Catholic Church is divided into

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

s and archdioceses:

Demographics

Catholicism has been decreasing for many decades. According to the different census, in 1940, 98.5% of the peruvian population adhered to catholicism, decreasing to 94,6% in 1981 and to 81,3% in 2007.

Province of Arequipa

Archdiocese of Arequipa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Arequipa ( la, Arequipensis) is an archdiocese located in the city of Arequipa in Peru.Diocese of Puno * Diocese of Tacna * Prelature of Ayaviri * Prelature of Chuquibamba * Prelature of Juli * Prelature of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané

Province of Ayacucho

* Archdiocese of Ayacucho * Diocese of Huancavelica * Prelature of Caraveli

Province of Cusco

* Archdiocese of Cusco *

Diocese of Abancay The Diocese of Abancay is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Peru. It was erected on April 28, 1958 from the territory of the Archdiocese of Cuzco with Alcides Mendoza Castro being made its first bish ...

Prelature of Chiquibambilla The Territorial Prelature of Chuquibambilla ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Chuquibambillensis) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the city of Chuquibambilla in the Ecclesiastical province of Cuzco in Peru. History * On April 2 ...

* Diocese of Sicuani

Province of Huancayo

* Archdiocese of Huancayo * Diocese of Huánuco * Diocese of Tarma

Province of Lima

* Archdiocese of Lima * Diocese of Callao * Diocese of Carabayllo * Diocese of Chosica * Diocese of Huacho * Diocese of Ica * Diocese of Lurín * Prelature of Yauyos

Province of Piura

* Archdiocese of Piura * Diocese of Chiclayo * Diocese of Chachapoyas * Diocese of Chulucanas * Prelature de Chota

Province of Trujillo

* Archdiocese of Trujillo * Diocese of Cajamarca * Diocese of Chimbote *

Diocese of Huaraz The Roman Catholic Diocese of Huaraz is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Peru. Erected in 1899, the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Trujillo The current bishop is José Eduardo Velásquez Tarazona, appoin ...

* Diocese of Huari * Prelature of Moyobamba * Prelature of Huamachuco

Apostolic Vicariates

* Apostolic Vicariate of San José de Amazonas * Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos *

Apostolic Vicariate of Jaén in Peru The Apostolic Vicariate of Jaén en Peru or Vicariate Apostolic of San Francisco Javier ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Giennensis in Peruvia) is a Latin Church apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in Peru . Its cathedral is located in the epi ...

or Saint Francis Xavier * Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Maldonado * Apostolic Vicariate of Pucallpa * Apostolic Vicariate of Requena * Apostolic Vicariate of San Ramón *

Apostolic Vicariate of Yurimaguas The Vicariate Apostolic of Yurimaguas ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Yurimaguaënsis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church is located in the episcopal see of Yurimaguas in Peru. History On 27 ...

Military Ordinariate

* Military Ordinariate of Peru

Sources

{{South America in topic, Catholic Church in, groupstyle=background-color:gold, titlestyle=background-color:gold