Archdiocese of Morelia
The Archdiocese of Morelia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western central Mexico. It was erected on 11 August 1536 as the Diocese of Michoacán.
The cathedra is found in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in the episcopal see of Morelia, capital of Michoacán state. It also has a minor basilica: Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Salud, in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán de Ocampo.
History
- It was established on 11 August 1536 as Diocese of Michoacán, on territory split off from the then Diocese of México.
- It lost territory repeatedly: on 13 July 1548 to establish the then Diocese of Guadalajara, on 15 Dec 1777 to establish the Diocese of Linares and on 31 Aug 1854 to establish the Diocese of San Luis Potosí.
- It was raised to the rank of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Michoacán by Pope Pius IX on 26 January 1863, having lost territory to establish the Diocese of León and the Diocese of Querétaro.
- It lost territory again on 16 Mar 1863 to establish the Diocese of Chilapa and on 26 Jul 1913 to establish the Diocese of Tacámbaro
- It was renamed to the Archdiocese of Morelia after its see on 22 November 1924.
- It lost territory again on 13 Oct 1973 to establish the Diocese of Celaya and on 2004 to establish the Diocese of Irapuato
- In January 2015, Pope Francis created Morelia's archbishop, Alberto Suárez Inda, the archdiocese's first Cardinal. According to an Associated Press story, Suárez Inda "has helped mediate political conflicts and kidnappings in one of Mexico's most violence-plagued states."
Bishops
Episcopal ordinaries
; Bishops of Michoacán- Vasco de Quiroga
- Antonio Ruíz de Morales y Molina, later Bishop of Puebla de los Angeles
- Juan de Medina Rincón y de la Vega, Order of St. Augustine
- Alfonso Guerra, Dominican Order, previously Bishop of Paraguay
- Domingo de Ulloa, O.P., previously Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of León in Nicaragua, Bishop of Popayán
- Andrés de Ubilla, O.P., previously Bishop of Chiapas
- Juan Fernández de Rosillo, previously Bishop of Vera Paz
- Baltazar de Cobarrubias y Múñoz, O.S.A., previously Bishop of Paraguay, Bishop of Nueva Caceres, Bishop of Antequera
- Alonso Orozco Enriquez de Armendáriz Castellanos y Toledo, Mercedarians, previously Titular Bishop of Sidon & Auxiliary Bishop of Burgos, then Bishop of Santiago
- Francisco de Rivera y Pareja, O. de M., previously Bishop of Guadalajara
- Marcos Ramírez de Prado y Ovando, Friars Minor, previously Bishop of Chiapas ; later Metropolitan Archbishop of México
- Payo Enríquez de Rivera Manrique, O.S.A., previously Bishop of Guatemala ; later Metropolitan Archbishop of México
- Francisco Antonio Sarmiento de Luna y Enríquez, O.S.A., later Bishop of Almería, Bishop of Coria
- Francisco Verdín y Molina, previously Bishop of Guadalajara
- Francisco de Aguiar y Seijas y Ulloa, later Metropolitan Archbishop of México
- Antonio de Monroy, O.P., previously Master of the Order of Preachers ; later Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela
- Juan de Ortega Cano Montañez y Patiño, previously Bishop of Durango, Bishop of Guatemala ; later Metropolitan Archbishop of México
- García Felipe de Legazpi y Velasco Altamirano y Albornoz, previously Bishop of Durango ; later Bishop of Puebla de los Angeles
- Manuel de Escalante Colombres y Mendoza, previously Bishop of Durango
- Felipe Ignacio Trujillo y Guerrero
- Francisco de la Cuesta, Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, previously Metropolitan Archbishop of Manila ; Archbishop
- Juan José de Escalona y Calatayud, previously Bishop of Caracas
- José Félix Valverde, Bishop of Caracas
- Francisco Pablo Matos Coronado, previously Bishop of Yucatán
- Martín de Elizacoechea, previously Bishop of Durango
- Pedro Anselmo Sánchez de Tagle, previously Bishop of Durango
- Luis Fernando de Hoyos y Mier
- Juan Ignacio de la Rocha
- Francisco Antonio de San Miguel Iglesias y Cajiga, O.S.H., previously Bishop of Comayagua
- Marcos de Moriana y Zafrilla Father Manuel Abad y Queipo
- Juan Cayetano José María Gómez de Portugal y Solis, previously Titular Bishop of Claudiopolis in Isauria
- Clemente de Jesús Munguía y Núñez
- Clemente de Jesús Munguía y Núñez
- José Ignacio Árciga Ruiz de Chávez, succeeding as former auxiliary bishop of Michoacán & Titular Bishop of Lagania
- Atenógenes Silva y Álvarez Tostado, previously Bishop of Colima
- Leopoldo Ruiz y Flóres, previously Bishop of León in Mexico, Metropolitan Archbishop of Linares
- Leopoldo Ruiz y Flóres, also Apostolic Delegate to Mexico
- Luis María Altamirano y Bulnes, previously Bishop of Huajuapan de León, Bishop of Tulancingo, Titular Archbishop of Bizya & Coadjutor Archbishop of Morelia, succeeding as such
- Manuel Martín del Campo y Padilla, previously Titular Bishop of Aulon, Coadjutor Bishop of León, succeeding as Bishop of León in Mexico, Titular Archbishop of Vadesi & Coadjutor Archbishop of Morelia succeeded as such
- Estanislao Alcaraz y Figueroa, previously Bishop of Matamoros, Bishop of San Luis Potosí
- Alberto Suárez Inda, previously Bishop of Tacámbaro ; created Cardinal-Priest of S. Policarpo
- Carlos Garfias Merlos, previously Archbishop of Acapulco
Coadjutor bishops
- Luis María Martínez y Rodríguez ; did not succeed to see; appointed Archbishop of México, Federal District
- Luis María Altamirano y Bulnes
- Manuel Martín del Campo Padilla
Auxiliary bishops
- Benito María de Moxó y Francolí O.S.B., appointed Archbishop of La Plata o Charcas, Bolivia
- José Antonio de la Peña y Navarro, appointed Bishop of Zamora, Michoacán
- José Ignacio Árciga Ruiz de Chávez, appointed Archbishop here
- Luis María Martínez y Rodríguez, appointed Coadjutor here
- Salvador Martinez Silva
- José de Jesús Tirado Pedraza, appointed Bishop of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas
- Román Acevedo Rojas
- Leopoldo González González, appointed Bishop of Tapachula, Chiapas
- Francisco Moreno Barrón, appointed Bishop of Tlaxcala
- Octavio Villegas Aguilar
- Carlos Suárez Cázares (2008–
- Juan Espinoza Jiménez (2010–
- Herculano Medina Garfias (2015–
- Víctor Alejandro Aguilar Ledesma (2016–
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
- Luis María Altamirano y Bulnes, appointed Bishop of Apatzingán, Michoacán in 1962
- Cardinal Posadas Ocampo, appointed Bishop of Tijuana, Baja California Norte in 1970; future Cardinal
- Alejo Zavala Castro, appointed Bishop of Tlapa, Guerrero in 1992
- Rodrigo Aguilar Martínez, appointed Bishop of Matehuala, San Luís Potosí in 1997
- Enrique Díaz Díaz, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas in 2003