The Apostolic Vicariate of Izabal is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory or

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in eastern

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Izabal Department Izabal () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. Its coastal areas form part of the homeland of the Garifuna people. Izabal is bordered to the north by Belize, to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras, to the east by Honduras, and by th ...

. It is exempt directly to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

is ''Catedral Inmaculada Concepción de María'', in the see of Puerto Barrios.

History

It was erected 30 April 1968, as the "

Apostolic Administration An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Izabal", on territory split off from the Diocese of Zacapa. It was elevated as an apostolic vicariate on 12 March 1988.

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Apostolic Administrators of Izabal'' * Gerardo Humberto Flores Reyes (1969.05.09 – 1977.10.07), previously

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Quetzaltenango, Los Altos (Guatemala) (1966.07.26 – 1969.05.09),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Nova Cæsaris A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white d ...

(1966.07.26 – 1977.10.07); later Bishop of Vera Paz (Guatemala) (1977.10.07 – 2001.02.22), President of Episcopal Conference of Guatemala (1992–1994) * Luis María Estrada Paetau,

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

(O.P.) (1977.10.27 – 1988.03.12 ''see below'') ;''Apostolic Vicars of Izabal'' * Luis María Estrada Paetau,

(O.P.) (''see above'' 1977.10.27 – 1988.03.12), Titular Bishop of Regiæ (1977.10.27 – 2011.03.25); previously Apostolic Administrator of

El Petén EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

(Guatemala) (1970.11.30 – emeritate 1977.10.27) * Gabriel Peñate Rodríguez (2004.05.21 – 2011.07.26 resignation), Titular Bishop of Succuba (2004.05.21 – ...) *''

Apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Mario Enrique Ríos Montt,

Lazarists The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

(C.M.) (2011.07.26 – 2013.02.09), Titular Bishop of Tiguala (1974.07.13 – ...), previously Bishop-Prelate of the then Territorial Prelature of Escuintla (Guatemala) (1974.07.13 – 1984.03.03) & Auxiliary Bishop of

(Guatemala) (1987.01.24 – 2010.10.02) * Domingo Buezo Leiva (2013.02.09 – ...), also Secretary General of Episcopal Conference of Guatemala (2012.03? – ...), Titular Bishop of Dardanus (2013.02.09 – ...)

References

External links

GigaCatholic
Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in Guatemala Christian organizations established in 1968 1968 establishments in North America Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Churches completed in 1968 {{RC-diocese-stub