Country United States Parishes 42 | Area 2,045 km (790 sq mi) | |
 | ||
Territory Southern portion of the island of Puerto Rico Ecclesiastical province San Juan de Puerto Rico Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2004)
593,548
474,959 (80%) | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce (Latin: Dioecesis Poncensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and consists of the southern part of the island of Puerto Rico, an American commonwealth. The diocese is led by a prelate bishop which pastors the mother church in the City of Ponce, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Its current bishop is S.E.R. Mons. Félix Lázaro Martinez, Sch. P. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Coamo, Guayanilla, Yauco, Peñuelas, Ponce, Juana Díaz, Villalba, Coamo, Santa Isabel, Salinas, Guayama and Patillas.
Contents
History
The See of Ponce was canonically erected on November 21, 1924, and is a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Province of San Juan de Puerto Rico.
Bishops of Ponce
The list of the bishops of Ponce and their terms of service. These are only the ecclesiastical bishops; emeritus bishops are not included here:
- Edwin Byrne (1925-1929)
- Aloysius Joseph Willinger (1929-1946)
- James Edward McManus (1947-1963)
- Luis Aponte Martinez (20 Feb 1964 - 4 Nov 1964)
- Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver (1964-2000)
- Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (2000-2003)
- Félix Lázaro Martinez (2003-2015)
- Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina, C.M.F. (2015-Present)