Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de Venezuela

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de Venezuela (Latin: Dioecesis Sancti Christophori in Venetiola) is a diocese located in the city of San Cristóbal in the ecclesiastical province of Mérida in Venezuela.

Diocese of San Cristóbal de Venezuela Dioecesis Sancti Christophori in Venetiola
Location
Country	Venezuela
Ecclesiastical province	Mérida
Statistics
Area	11,000 km^2 (4,200 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 1,500,000 1,250,000 (83.3%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	12 October 1922 (97 years ago)
Cathedral	Catedral de San Cristóbal
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Mario del Valle Moronta Rodríguez
Auxiliary Bishops	Juan Alberto Ayala Ramírez, elect
Map

History

On 12 October 1922 Pope Pius XI established the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Venezuela from the Diocese of Mérida.

Special churches

• Minor Basilicas:
  • Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación, Táriba
  • Basílica del Espíritu Santo, La Grita

Bishops

Ordinaries

• Tomás Antonio Sanmiguel Díaz † (22 Jun 1923 – 6 Jul 1937)
• Rafael Ignacio Arias Blanco † (12 Nov 1939 – 23 Apr 1952) Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Caracas
• Alejandro Fernández Feo-Tinoco † (23 Apr 1952 – 26 Oct 1984)
• Marco Tulio Ramírez Roa † (26 Oct 1984 – 26 Feb 1998)
• Mario del Valle Moronta Rodríguez (14 Apr 1999 – present)

Auxiliary Bishop

• Juan Alberto Ayala Ramírez (2020-

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• José Léon Rojas Chaparro † , appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Trujillo in 1961
• José Hernán Sánchez Porras † , appointed Bishop of Venezuela, Military in 2000
• Jorge Anibal Quintero Chacón, appointed Bishop of Margarita in 2008
• Francisco Gerardo Escalante Molina, appointed nuncio and titular Archbishop in 2016

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Venezuela

Sources

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy ^{[self-published]}