Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. The see was erected 8 August 1511 as the Diocese of Santo Domingo and elevated to archdiocese on 12 February 1546.
In recognition of the fact that the see was the first established in the Western Hemisphere, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo can use the title of Primate of America, according to the bull of Pope Pius VII Divinis praeceptis issued on 28 November 1816 and ratified by the Concordat between the Holy See and the Dominican Republic signed on 16 June 1954.
The archiepiscopal see is the Santa María la Menor cathedral, a World Heritage Site, dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation, which was designated a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in his apostolic letter Inter Americae on 14 June 1920.
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 3,457,347 Catholics on 4,032 km² in 214 parishes with 478 priests, 159 deacons, 2,845 lay religious and 284 seminarians.Ecclesiastical province
The Metropolitan's suffragan sees are :- Roman Catholic Diocese of Baní
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Barahona
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís.
History
- The Bull of Pope Alexander VI, dated 24 June 1493, designated the Franciscan Bernardo Buil to accompany Christopher Columbus on his second voyage of discovery, with faculties as Apostolic delegate or vicar. He did not make the journey, and his Benedictine near-namesake did. On 30 August 1495, a band of Franciscans and other missioners did arrive in Hispaniola.
- The see was erected on 8 August 1511 by Pope Julius II by the Bull Pontifex Romanus, which also established the bishoprics of Concepción de la Vega and the San Juan of Porto Rico, on Antillian Spanish-colonial territory split off from the Archdiocese of Seville. Three prelates, who had been appointed to the sees comprising the ecclesiastical province created in 1504 by the same pope, united their petition to that of the Crown in requesting the Holy See to suppress them and to establish the three new dioceses as suffragans to the See of Seville. This alteration was effected before any of the prelates in question had taken possession of his diocese or been consecrated a bishop. - Father Francisco Garcia de Padilla, a Franciscan, who in 1504 had been designed to occupy the See of Diocese of Bayuna, was chosen the first Bishop of Santo Domingo. He died before his consecration, after having named Rev. Carlos de Aragón his vicar-general and authorized him to take possession of the diocese. The first bishop to occupy the See of Santo Domingo was Alessandro Geraldini, who was appointed in 1516 and died in 1524. He was a native of Italy, and perhaps the only representative of the Americas to attend the Fifth Lateran Council.
- Lost territories on 1513.08.28 to establish the Diocese of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and on 1517.02.11 to establish the Diocese of Baracoa
- In 1527 it gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of Concepción de la Vega, which was united, after the death of its first bishop, Pedro Suárez de Deza, to the See of Santo Domingo.
- Lost territories again : on 1531.06.21 to establish the Diocese of Coro, on 1534.01.10 to establish the Diocese of Santa Marta, on 1534.12.18 to establish the Diocese of Guatemala and in 1539 to establish the Diocese of Honduras
- Pope Paul III on 12 February 1546 elevated Santo Domingo to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Domingo, and the incumbent of the see at the time, Bishop Alonso de Fuenmayor, became its first archbishop. As first the newly Metropolitan see of Santo Domingo had five Caribbean suffragan sees: two Antillian -Diocese of Puerto Rico and Diocese of Santiago on Cuba- and three continental : Diocese of Coro in Venezuela, Diocese of Santa Marta in Colombia and the Diocese of Guatemala.
- In 1848 it was demoted as non-metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici
- Lost territories on 1861.10.03 to establish Metropolitan Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Diocese of Cap-Haïtien, Diocese of Les Cayes, Diocese of Les Gonaives and Diocese of Port-de-Paix
- Promoted back on 1953.09.25 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici, having lost more territories to establish Diocese of Santiago de los Caballeros, Diocese of La Vega and Territorial Prelature of San Juan de la Maguana
- Lost territories thrice later : on 1959.04.01 to establish Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey, on 1986.11.08 to establish Diocese of Baní and on 1997.02.01 to establish Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís.
- It enjoyed Papal visits from Pope John Paul II.
Bishops
Ordinaries
;Diocese of Santo DomingoErected: August 8, 1511
- Francisco Garcia de Padilla, O.F.M. Died
- Alejandro Geraldini Died
- Luis de Figueroa, O.S.H., Died, never consecrated
- Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal, Appointed, Bishop of Tui
Elevated February 12, 1546
Coadjutor archbishops
- Elías Rodríguez Ortiz ; did not succeed to the see
- Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla
- Luis Antonio de Mena y Steinkoft ; did not succeed to the see
- Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas ; future Cardinal
- Hugo Eduardo Polanco Brito ; did not succeed to the see; appointed Archbishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey
Auxiliary bishops
- Felipe Antonio Gallego Gorgojo, S.J.
- Príamo Pericles Tejeda Rosario, appointed Bishop of Baní
- Juan Félix Pepén y Soliman
- Ramón Benito de La Rosa y Carpio, appointed Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey
- Francisco José Arnáiz Zarandona, S.J.
- Pablo Cedano Cedano
- Amancio Escapa Aparici, O.C.D.
- Pablo Cedano Cedano
- Victor Emilio Masalles Pere, appointed Bishop of Baní
- Víctor Emilio Masalles Pere
- Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández
- Jesús Castro Marte, appointed Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey
- Faustino Burgos Brisman, C.M.
- José Amable Durán Tineo