Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antofagasta
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antofagasta is a Latin Rite Metropolitan archdiocese in northern Chile's Antofagasta Province.
Special churches
- Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is Catedral San José, dedicated to Saint Joseph, in the city of Antofagasta.
- It also has a Minor Basilica : Basílica del Corazón de María
History
- 1881: Established as Mission “sui iuris” of Antofagasta, on territory split off from the Diocese of La Serena
- 1887: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Antofagasta
- 3 February 1928: Promoted as Diocese of Antofagasta
- 1965.07.21: Lost territory to establish Territorial Prelature of Calama
- 28 June 1967: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Antofagasta/ Antofagasten
- Enjoyed a Papal visit from Pope John Paul II in April 1987.
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 386,017 Catholics on 84,504 km2 in 20 parishes and 67 missions with 37 priests, 28 deacons, 108 lay religious and 2 seminarians.Ecclesiastical province
The Metropolitan's Suffragan sees are :- Roman Catholic Diocese of Iquique
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan Bautista de Calama, its daughter see
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Marcos de Arica
Bishops
Ordinaries
; Ecclesiastical Superior of Antofagasta- Father Florencio Eduardo Fontecilla Sánchez, next Bishop of mother see La Serena
- Bishop-elect Luís Silva Lezaeta first term
- Fr. Felipe Salas Errázuriz
- Luís Silva Lezaeta again, Titular Bishop of Olena
- Luís Silva Lezaeta
- Alfredo Cifuentes Gómez, next Metropolitan Archbishop of La Serena, Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Apostolic Administration of Copiapó, emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Thapsus, died 1989
- Hernán Frías Hurtado
- Francisco de Borja Valenzuela Ríos
- Francisco de Borja Valenzuela Ríos, next Archbishop of San Felipe
- Carlos Oviedo Cavada, O. de M., next Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, elevated to Cardinal in 1994; died 7 December 1998
- Patricio Infante Alfonso
- Pablo Lizama Riquelme
- Ignacio Francisco Ducasse Medina
Coadjutor bishop
- Pablo Lizama Riquelme
Auxiliary bishops
- Arturo Mery Beckdorf, appointed Bishop of Valdivia
- Juan Luis Ysern de Arce, appointed Bishop of San Carlos de Ancud
- Juan Bautista Herrada Armijo, O. de M.