The Diocese of Ponce () is an ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

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 the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and consists of the southern part of the island of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, a territory of the United States. The diocese is led by a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

s the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

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 Adjuntas () is a small mountainside Adjuntas barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico, Cordillera Central, no ...

Jayuya Jayuya () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the mountainous center region of the island, north of Ponce; east of Utuado; and west of Ciales. Jayuya is spread over 10 barrios and Jayuya Pueblo (the downtown and administra ...

, Guánica,

Guayanilla Guayanilla (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 16 ...

Yauco Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...

, Peñuelas, Ponce,

Juana Díaz Juana is a Spanish female name. It is the feminine form of ''Juan'' (English ''John''), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. The feminine diminutive form (male equivalent to ''Johnny'') is Juanita (equival ...

, Villalba,

Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. The ...

, Santa Isabel, Salinas,

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, Arroyo, and Patillas.

History

In 1978, Bishop Fremiot Torres Oliver acquired a large property in the Rio Chiquito sector of

Barrio Portugués ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, architectur ...

where the Diocese is currently (2019) located.

Spanish colonial system

Under the Spanish colonial system (1692–1898) the Diocese of Ponce operated and its bishop in 1877 was Juan Puig. From 25 October 1892 to 1897, the bishop was Lorenzo Roura y Bayer. Other ''Padres Paules'' bishops at the Cathedral were: * Lorenzo Roura y Bayer (25 October 1892 – 1897) * Leonardo G. Villanueva (1897–1898) * Sturnino Janices (1997–1898) * Francisco Vicario (1898–1905) * Luis Vega (1905–1911) * Cipariano Peña (1911–1919) * Florencio Garcia (1919–1927) * Manuel Peña (1927–1931) * Gonzalo de la Guerra (1931–1937) * Deogracias Morondo (1937–1940) * Toribio Marijuan (1940–1945) * Mariano Bravo (1945–1948) * Epifanio Garcia (1948–1957) * Jose Carrasco (1957) From 1970 on, ''Padres Paules'' left Ponce and the Cathedral was then run by the Diocese of Ponce directly.

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.

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 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

Bishops

Bishops of Ponce

Edwin Byrne Edwin Vincent Byrne (August 9, 1891 – July 26, 1963) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served in Puerto Rico, as Bishop of Ponce (1925–1929) and Bishop of San Juan (1929–1943), before returning to the United States a ...

(1925–1929), appointed Bishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico # Aloysius Joseph Willinger (1929–1946), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Fresno #

James Edward McManus James Edward McManus (October 10, 1900 – July 6, 1976) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Redemptorist, he served as Bishop of Ponce in Puerto Rico (1947–1963) and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York ...

(1947–1963), resigned #

Luis Aponte Martinez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

(1963–1964), appointed Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico #

Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver (28 October 1925 – 26 January 2012) was a Puerto Rican prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the longest-serving bishop for the Diocese of Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with 36 years of service from 1964 to 20 ...

(1964–2000), retired # Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (2000–2003), retired # Félix Lázaro Martínez (2003–2015), retired # Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina, C.M.F. (2015–present)Diocesis of Ponce
Via: Directorio Diocesano > Episcopologio Ponceño > Diócesis de Ponce. Retrieved February 16, 2011.

Coadjutor bishops

* Luis Aponte Martinez (1963–1963) * Félix Lázaro Martinez (2002–2003)

Auxiliary bishops

* Luis Aponte Martinez (1960–1963), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Ponce * Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (1975–2000), appointed Bishop of Ponce

Parish churches

Parish churches listed by founding dates: * 1616 –

Iglesia San Blas de Illescas The Iglesia San Blas de Illescas () is a Catholic parish church located on the center plaza of Coamo, Puerto Rico. Construction on the church began in 1661; it has since been judged "one of the most important works of religious architecture in P ...

– Coamo * 1692 –

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: ''Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe''), or simply Ponce Cathedral, is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce located in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico. The cathedral ...

– Ponce * 1736 – San Antonio de Padua –

* 1756 – Ntra. Sra. del Rosario –

* 1793 – San José – Peñuelas * 1798 –

Iglesia San Ramón Nonato The San Ramón Nonato Church (Spanish: ''Iglesia San Ramón Nonato''), officially named Church of San Juan Bautista y San Ramón Nonato, is a historic Roman Catholic parish church in the town plaza of Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. History The par ...

– Juana Díaz * 1811 – Inmaculado Corazón de María – Patillas * 1815 – San Joaquín y Santa Ana –

* 1840 – Inmaculada Concepción –

* 1854 – Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate – Salinas * 1854 – Santiago Apóstol – Santa Isabel * 1855 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Arroyo * 1883 – Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate –

* 1883 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Playa (Ponce) * 1888 – San Antonio Abad – Guánica * 1917 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Villalba * 1928 – Ntra. Sra. de la Medalla Milagrosa – Ponce * 1928 – Ntra. Sra. de la Merced – Ponce * 1930 – Santa Teresita – Ponce * 1946 – Sagrado Corazón – Aguirre * 1948 – San Conrado – Ponce * 1952 – Santa María Reina – Ponce * 1959 – Sagrado Corazón de Jesús – Tallaboa ( Peñuelas) * 1962 – Ntra. Sra. de la Divina Providencia – Villalba * 1963 – Sagrado Corazón – Ensenada (Guánica) * 1964 – San Vicente de Paúl – Ponce * 1964 – San Judas Tadeo – Ponce * 1964 – Cristo Rey – Ponce * 1965 – San José – Ponce * 1967 – La Resurrección – Ponce * 1968 – Buen Pastor – Ponce * 1969 – San Martín de Porres – Yauco * 1969 – Corazón de Jesús – Ponce * 1969 – Ntra. Sra. de la Medalla Milagrosa – Castañer (

) * 1971 – Santísima Trinidad – Ponce * 1973 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Coto Laurel (Ponce) * 1979 – San José Obrero – Ponce * 1984 – Ntra. Sra. de Lourdes – Aguilita (

) * 1984 – Santa Teresita – Arús (Juana Díaz) * 1986 – Santísimo Sacramento – Ponce * 2001 – Santo Domingo de Guzmán – Yauco * 2001 – San Antonio de Padua –

* 2005 – Santos Apóstoles Pedro y Pablo – Guayama

References

External links

Diócesis de Ponce
(Official Site in Spanish)
Official Facebook page
(in Spanish)

GCatholic.org website
Católica Radio 88.9 FM & 89.1 FM
- Diocese of Ponce FM Radio Station (Official Site in Spanish) {{Coord, 18.0118, N, 66.6142, W, source:wikidata, display=title Ponce Organizations based in Ponce, Puerto Rico Christian organizations established in 1924 Ponce 1924 establishments in Puerto Rico