Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florencia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florencia (Latin: Florentiae) is an archdiocese located in the city of Florencia, Caquetá in Colombia.
Archdiocese of Florencia Archidioecesis Florentiae | |
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Location | |
Country | |
Ecclesiastical province | Florencia |
Statistics | |
Area | 15,441 km2 (5,962 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2006) 260,000 222,800 (85.7%) |
Information | |
Rite | Latin Rite |
Established | 8 February 1951 (69 years ago) |
Cathedral | Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral, Florencia |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Omar de Jesús Mejía Giraldo |
Bishops emeritus | Fabián Marulanda López |
Map | |
On Saturday, April 27, 2013, Pope Francis appointed the Very Reverend Father Omar de Jesús Mejía Giraldo, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón - Rionegro, Colombia, who up until then had been serving as rector of the national major seminary "Christ the Priest" in La Ceja, Colombia, as the sixth ordinary and fourth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Florencia.
He succeeded Bishop Jorge Alberto Ossa Soto, who had served from 2003 until his July 2011 appointment by Pope Benedict XVI as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos in Santa Rosa de Osos, Colombia.
On July 13, 2019, Florencia was raised to Metropolitan Archdiocese, so Bishop Mejía Giraldo became an Archbishop then.
Biography of Archbishop Mejia Giraldo
Archbishop Mejia Giraldo was born in El Santuario, Colombia, located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón - Rionegro, on January 21, 1966. He was ordained to the priesthood on November 16, 1991, having studied the requisite undergraduate philosophy and graduate theology studies at the national major seminary "Christ the Priest" in La Ceja, Colombia, the same one where he would later serve as rector.
He then earned a licentiate of sacred philosophy and religious studies (the S.P.L. degree) at the "Universidad Católica de Oriente" (Spanish: "Catholic University of the Orient") in Rionegro, Colombia, and then also a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in dogmatic theology (the S.T.L. degree) from the Pontifical Gregorian University (the Gregorian, or the "Greg") in Rome, Italy.
He has held the following positions: trainer at the diocesan seminary "Nuestra Señora"; diocesan delegate for youth ministry and vocation ministry; parochial vicar (associate pastor, or curate), in the Parish of "Nuestra Señora del Carmen", in El Carmen de Viboral, Colombia; director of the Department for pastoral care in "Universidad Católica de Oriente" (Spanish: "Catholic University of the Orient") of Rionegro, Colombia; parochial vicar of the Parish "Madre de la Sabiduría"; vice-rector of the national seminary "Christ the Priest" in La Ceja and, starting 2008, rector of the national seminary "Christ the Priest" in La Ceja.[1]
History
- 8 February 1951: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Florencia from the Apostolic Vicariate of Caquetá
- 9 December 1985: Promoted as Diocese of Florencia
- 13 July 2019: Elevated as Archdiocese of Florencia
Ordinaries
- Vicars Apostolic of Florencia
- Antonio Torasso, I.M.C. (1952.01.10 – 1960.10.22)
- Angelo Cuniberti, I.M.C. (1961.04.18 – 1978.11.15)
- José Luis Serna Alzate, I.M.C. (1978.11.15 – 1985.12.09)
- Bishops of Florencia
- José Luis Serna Alzate, I.M.C. (1985.12.09 – 1989.07.08), appointed Bishop of Líbano-Honda
- Fabián Marulanda López (1989.12.22 – 2002.07.19)
- Jorge Alberto Ossa Soto (2003.01.21 – 2011.07.15), appointed Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos by Pope Benedict XVI
- Omar de Jesús Mejía Giraldo (2013.04.27 – 2019.07.13); elevated to Metropolitan Archbishop
- Archbishops of Florencia
- Omar de Jesús Mejía Giraldo (since 2019.07.13)
Suffragan dioceses
See also
- Roman Catholicism in Colombia