The Vicariate Apostolic of Pilcomayo () 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 ...

missionary 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 ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. It is exempt 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 ...

, specifically the

Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congrega ...

, and is 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 episcopal see is the (Marian) Catedral Santa María, in

Mariscal Estigarribia Mariscal Estigarribia () is a town in the Boquerón, Paraguay, Boquerón Department of Paraguay. It is home to Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport (IATA code: ESG). Strategic importance The airport was constructed by Paraguayan milit ...

an area around national capital

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

Boquerón department Boquerón may refer to: * Boquerón, Cuba * Boquerón, Las Piedras, Puerto Rico * Boquerón, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico * Boquerón Bay, Puerto Rico * Boquerón, Chiriquí, Panama * Boquerón Department, Paraguay * Boquerón (island), an island in the A ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally cared for 41,400 Catholics (46.5% of 89,000 total) on 125,000 km² in 6 parishes and 3 missions with 11 priests (3 diocesan, 8 religious), 32 lay religious (12 brothers, 20 sisters) and 4 seminarians.

History

On 14 July 1950,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

established the

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Pilcomayo, on Andean territory named after the

Pilcomayo River Pilcomayo (in Hispanicized spelling) ( Quechua Pillkumayu or Pillku Mayu, ''pillku'' red, ''mayu'' river, "red river", Guarani Ysyry Araguay ) is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay Riv ...

, split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Camiri. It lost territory on 1 May 1929 with the creation of the Diocese of Concepción y Chaco.

elevated the prefecture to

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 Pilcomayo on 14 July 1950, thus entitling it to a

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 ...

. It lost territory again on 28 June 1980 when the Diocese of Benjamín Aceval was created.

Ordinaries

;''Apostolic Prefects of Pilcomayo'' * Father Giuseppe Rose,

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation wa ...

(O.M.I.) (1925 – death 1927) * Enrico Breuer, O.M.I. (1927 – death 1932) ;''Apostolic Vicars of Pilcomayo'' * Karl Walter Vervoort, O.M.I. (born Germany) (27 February 1932 – retired 24 August 1962),

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 ...

of Barica (1950.07.15 – death 1979.07.12) * Sinforiano Lucas Rojo, O.M.I. (born Spain) (24 August 1962 – retired 24 Jan 1981), Titular Bishop of Boreum (1962.08.24 – death 1990.05.04) * Pedro Shaw, O.M.I. (born Belgium) (22 April 1981 – death 21 June 1984), Titular Bishop of Crepedula (1981.04.22 – 1984.06.21) * Lucio Alfert, O.M.I. (born Germany) (24 January 1986 – ...), Titular Bishop of Tubyza (1986.01.24 – ...)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with Google satellite photo - data for all sections
Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in Paraguay Religious organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in Paraguay {{Paraguay-RC-diocese-stub

Statistics

History

Ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links