Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilpancingo–Chilapa is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Acapulco.

History

The former Diocese of Chilapa in southern Mexico comprised the State of Guerrero. It was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mexico, and existed under that name from 1863 to 1989.
The early bishops were Ambrosia Serrano, Ramon Ibarra, and Homobono Anaya.
John Ssenyondo, a priest in Chilapa, also served under the dictatorship of Idi Amin in his native Uganda. He has been called "The Indiana Jones of the Faith." He was kidnapped and found dead near the town of Ocotlán in 2014.

Violence and criminality

The current bishop, José de Jesus González, has described the state of Guerrero as "a hijacked state" due to the high levels of organised crime and violence. He told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that in this context the Church is seen as "the only voice that can speak for the people".
The bishop also described his own contact with this violence, namely a situation where his car came under fire from automatic weapons. "There were three of us in a van and they shot at us. They aimed for our heads, not for the tires. But when they saw that we were priests they apologised and offered to pay for the shattered windows." He goes on to explain that the criminals even asked for his blessing, concluding that "they are also my children, even though they are misguided".

Bishops

Ordinaries

  • Ambrosia María Serrano y Rodriguez
  • Tomás Barón y Morales, appointed Bishop of León, Guanajuato
  • Buenaventura del Purísimo Corazón de María Portillo y Tejeda, appointed Bishop of Zacatecas
  • José Ramón Ibarra y González, appointed Bishop of Tlaxcala
  • José Homobono Anaya y Gutiérrez
  • Francisco Maria Campos y Angeles
  • José Guadalupe Ortíz y López, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Monterrey, Nuevo León
  • Leopoldo Díaz y Escudero
  • Alfonso Tóriz Cobián, appointed Bishop of Querétaro
  • Fidel Cortés Pérez
  • José María Hernández González, appointed Bishop of Netzahualcóyotl
  • Efrén Ramos Salazar
  • Alejo Zavala Castro
  • Salvador Rangel Mendoza
  • José de Jesús González Hernández

    Coadjutor bishop

  • Alfonso Tóriz Cobián