Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán

Archdiocese of Yucatán Archidioecesis Yucatanensis Arquidiócesis de Yucatán
Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Ildephonsus
Location
Country	Mexico
Ecclesiastical province	Yucatán
Statistics
Area	15,229 sq mi (39,440 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 1,990,000 1,743,000 (87.6%)
Parishes	103
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	19 November 1561 (455 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of St. Ildephonsus
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Gustavo Rodríguez Vega (formerly, since October 8, 2008, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuevo Laredo, based in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, until his appointment as Archbishop of Yucatán by Pope Francis on Monday, June 1, 2015)
Auxiliary Bishops	José Rafael Palma Capetillo
Emeritus Bishops	Emilio Carlos Berlie Belaunzarán
Map
Website
arquidiocesisdeyucatan.com.mx

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán (Latin: Archidioecesis Yucatanensis) is the diocese of the Catholic Church based in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico; the Campeche and the Tabasco are its suffragans. Its area is that of the state of the same name, covering an area of 17,204 square miles.

There is a legend that long before the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico the Christian religion had been preached in Yucatán Peninsula by Quetzacoatl. Yucatán was the first region of the Mexican territory to encounter Christianity in the 16th century; it was there that the first Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated. It is said that in 1517 Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, the discoverer and explorer of the region, founded the first parish. Pope Leo X, believing the newly discovered land to be an island, by the papal bull Sacri apostolatus ministerio, dated 27 January 1518, created the Diocese of Yucatán, under the name Carolense and placed it under the protection of Our Lady of the Remedies (Santa Maria de los Remedios).

When it became known that Yucatán was part of the continent which Hernán Cortés was conquering, Pope Clement VII made certain modifications, and Dominican friar Julián Garcés, was transferred from his office of Bishop of Yucatán to that of Bishop of Tlaxcala (now the Archdiocese of Puebla de los Angeles) when he arrived in Mexico, as the Spanish had abandoned the conquest of Yucatán for this new land. The first resident bishop was Francisco Toral, a Franciscan friar, who took possession on 15 August 1562, one year after his appointment; he assisted at the first and second Mexican Provincial Councils.