Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mérida in Venezuela
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Archdiocese of Mérida Archidioecesis Emeritensis in Venetiola |
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|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Venezuela |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 8,109 km2 (3,131 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 603,464 543,118 (90.0%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 16 February 1778 (239 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Catedral Basílica Menor de la Inmaculada Concepción de Mérida |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo |
| Auxiliary Bishops | Luis Alfonso Márquez Molina, C.I.M. |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mérida (Latin: Archidioecesis Emeritensis in Venetiola) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in western Venezuela.
Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is Catedral Basílica Menor de la Inmaculada Concepción de Mérida, a minor basilica located in the city of Mérida. It also has the Minor Basilica of Santa Lucía, in Timotes.
On 16 February 1778 Pope Pius VI established the Diocese of Mérida, on territories split off from the then Diocese of Caracas and Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santafé en Nueva Granada in Colombia.
It lost territory repeatedly :
Pope Pius IX elevated the diocese to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mérida on 11 June 11, 1923. It lost more territory to establish two mpre suffragans : on 1957.06.04 Trujillo, on 1965.07.23 Barinas
It enjoyed a papal visit from Pope John Paul II in January 1985.)
On 1994.07.07 it lost territory to establish the Diocese of El Vigía–San Carlos del Zulia
On 3 December 2015 it was assigned another suffragan see, the newly created Diocese of Guasdualito
(all Roman Rite)
BIOS TO BE ELABORATED
Its ecclesiastical province comprises the Metropolitan's archbishopric and the following Suffragan sees :
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Wikipedia