The Catholic Church in Peru is part of the worldwide
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 ...
, under the spiritual leadership of the
pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
, the
curia
Curia (: 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 probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...
in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, and the Peruvian
Episcopal Conference
An episcopal conference, often also called a bishops’ conference or 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 fir ...
.
Catholics compose an estimated 76% of Peru's population, according to the 2017 census.US State Dept 2022 report /ref> In 2020, there were over 3,000 priests and over 9,000 nuns serving across 1,670 parishes; the church also ran 136 hospitals and homes for the old and infirm.
The Holy See and the government of Peru concluded a pact regulating their relations and certain aspects of the Church's status in Peru on 26 July 1980.
Peru has produced two famous saints,
St. Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima, TOSD (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) (, ), was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the pover ...
Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...
, an American who migrated to Peru in 1985 and who also spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru, would become the first Pope with Peruvian citizenship.
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.
Dioceses
The Peruvian Catholic Church is divided into
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 ...
s and
archdiocese
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 associated ...
Prelature of Caraveli
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...
Archdiocese of Lima
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima () is part of the Catholic Church in Peru which enjoys full communion with the Holy See. The Archdiocese was founded as the ''Diocese of Lima'' on 14 May 1541. The diocese was raised to the level of a metr ...
Military Ordinariate of Peru
The Military Bishopric of Peru () is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church. Immediately Exemption (Catholic canon law), exempt to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Catholics serving in the Military of Peru, Peruvi ...
See also
*
Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network
Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (''Red Eclesial Panamazónica'', REPAM) is a network with a thousand organizations from the Amazon "to create a development model that privileges the poor and serves the common good".
There are local, national and ...
{{South America in topic, Catholic Church in, groupstyle=background-color:gold, titlestyle=background-color:gold
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...