Area 112,310 km² | ||
 | ||
Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2004)150,826120,208 (79.9%) Established 16 November 1883 (133 years ago) Patron saint Mary Help of Christians Emeritus bishop Tomás Osvaldo González Morales | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Punta Arenas (in Latin: Dioecesis Punta Arenas ) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Puerto Montt, in Chile. Its current bishop is Mgr. Bernardo Bastres Florence, S.D.B. and the retired (emeritus) bishop is Mgr. Tomás Osvaldo González Morales.
Contents
History
In 1883 the Holy See established the Apostolic Prefecture of Patagonia Meridional, Tierra del Fuego e Islas Malvinas, which was entrusted to the Salesian congregation. In 1916, the prefecture was upgraded and its name changed to Apostolic Vicariate of Magallanes e Islas Malvinas, and on 17 January 1947, Pope Pius XII erected the diocese proper by means of the Bulla "Ut in amplissimo Patagoniae Chilensis territorio". In 1952, the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands was separated from the diocese.
All the bishops of the diocese of Punta Arenas have belonged to the Salesian congregation.
Diocesan statistics
The diocese, which comprises the entire Chilean region of Magallanes (Magallanes y Antártida Chilena), covers a territory of 112,302 km². It is estimated than 79% of the inhabitants of the diocese are Catholic. This figure represents about 120,000 Catholics out of a total population of 151,000.
Punta Arenas is the southernmost diocese in the whole Roman Catholic Church and its parish Nuestra Señora del Carmen, in Puerto Willians (Navarino island), is the southernmost Catholic parish in the world.
The mother church of the diocese is the Cathedral of El Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart) in the city of Punta Arenas.