Roman Catholicism in Chile

The Catholic Church in Chile (Spanish: Iglesia católica en Chile) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Episcopal Conference of Chile. There are 5 archdioceses, 18 dioceses, 2 territorial prelatures, 1 apostolic vicariate, 1 military ordinariate and a personal prelature (Opus Dei).

As of 2012, 66.6% of Chilean population over 15 years of age claims to be of Catholic creed - a decrease from the 70% reported by the 2002 census.

Catholicism was introduced by Dominican and Franciscan friars who accompanied the Spanish colonialists in the 16th century. The first parish was established in 1547 and the first diocese in 1561. Most of the native population in the northern and central regions was evangelized by 1650. The southern area proved more difficult. Church activity was hindered during the campaign for independence (1810–18) and in the first years of the new government. In the 20th century, further success was impeded by a shortage of clergy and government attempts to control Church administration. Separation of Church and state was defined by a new constitution in 1925. Relations between Church and state were strained during the Marxist presidency of Salvador Allende and under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. During the Pinochet regime, while some Catholic bishops and priests supported the regime, others under the leadership of the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez, set up the "Vicaria de la Solidaridad" (the "Vicariate of Solidarity"), a human rights organization where "everyone went for help once their loved ones vanished."

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