The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Blessed Assumption () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Paraguay.
It was created as the Diocese of Paraguay by Pope Paul III on July 1, 1547, and was elevated to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Pius XI on May 1, 1929, with the suffragan sees of BenjamÃÂn Aceval, Caacupé, Carapeguá, Ciudad del Este, Concepción, Coronel Oviedo, Encarnación, San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, San Lorenzo, San Pedro, and Villarrica del EspÃÂritu Santo.
The archdiocese's mother church and thus seat of its archbishop is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. As the only metropolitan in Paraguay, it is the principal episcopal see of that country. The archdiocese has 1.58 million Catholics (90.6%) in 2012.
Archbishop Flores succeeded to the see on March 6, 2022.
Bishops
Ordinaries
Diocese of Paraguay
Erected: 1 July 1547<br> Latin Name: de Paraguay
- Juan de los Barrios, O.F.M. (1547âÂÂ1552), appointed Bishop of Santa Marta, Colombia
- Pedro de la Torre, O.F.M. (1554âÂÂ1573)
- Alfonso Guerra (bishop), O.P. (1579âÂÂ1592), appointed Bishop of Michoacán, México
- Thomas Vásquez de Liaño (1596âÂÂ1599)
- MartÃÂn Ignacio de Loyola (1601âÂÂ1608)
- Reginaldo de Lizárraga, O.P. (1609)
- Lorenzo Pérez de Grado (1615âÂÂ1619), appointed Bishop of Cuzco, Peru
- Tomás de la Torre Gibaja, O.P. (1620âÂÂ1628), appointed Bishop of Córdoba (Tucumán), Argentina
- Cristóbal de Aresti MartÃÂnez de Aguilar, O.S.B. (1629âÂÂ1635), appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Francisco de la Serna, O.E.S.A. (1635âÂÂ1638), appointed Bishop of Popayán, Colombia
- Bernardino de Cárdenas Ponce, O.F.M. (1640âÂÂ1666), appointed Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
- Gabriel de Guilléstegui, O.F.M. (1666âÂÂ1670), appointed Bishop of La Paz, Bolivia
- Ferdinandus de Valcácer (1672)
- Faustino Casas Hernández, O. de M. (1674âÂÂ1686)
- Sebastián de Pastrana, O. de M. (1693âÂÂ1700)
- Pedro DÃÂaz de Durana (1704âÂÂ1718)
- José Luis Palos Bord, O.F.M. (1724âÂÂ1738)
- José Cayetano Paravicino, O.F.M. (1738âÂÂ1747), appointed Bishop of Trujillo, Peru
- Bernardo José Pérez de Oblitas (1747âÂÂ1756), appointed Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
- Manuel Antonio de la Torre (1756âÂÂ1762), appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Emmanuel López de Espinosa (1762âÂÂ1770)
- Juan José Priego y Caro, O.P. (1772âÂÂ1779)
- Luis Velasco y Maeda, O.F.M. (1779âÂÂ1792)
- Lorenzo Suarez de Cantillana (1797âÂÂ1799)
- Nicolás Videla del Pino (1802âÂÂ1806), appointed Bishop of Salta, Argentina
- Pedro GarcÃÂa de Panés, O.F.M. (1807âÂÂ1838)
- Basilio López (1844âÂÂ1859)
- Juan Gregorio Urbieta (1860âÂÂ1865)
- Manuel Antonio Palacios (1865âÂÂ1868)
- Pietro Giovanni Aponte (1879âÂÂ1891)
- Juan Sinforiano BogarÃÂn (1894âÂÂ1929), elevated along with the diocese (see below)
Archdiocese of Asunción
Elevated: 1 May 1929<br> Latin Name: Sanctissimae Assumptionis
- Juan Sinforiano BogarÃÂn (1929âÂÂ1949)
- Juan José AnÃÂbal Mena Porta (1949âÂÂ1970)
- Ismael Blas Rolón Silvero, S.D.B. (1970âÂÂ1989)
- Felipe Santiago BenÃÂtez ÃÂvalos (1989âÂÂ2002)
- Pastor Cuquejo, C.Ss.R. (2002âÂÂ2014)
- Edmundo Valenzuela, S.D.B. (2014âÂÂ2022)
- Adalberto MartÃÂnez Flores (2022âÂÂpresent)
Coadjutor bishops
Auxiliary bishops
- Marco Antonio Maiz (1844âÂÂ1848)
- Juan Gregorio Urbieta (1856âÂÂ1860), appointed Bishop here
- Juan José AnÃÂbal Mena Porta (1936âÂÂ1941), appointed Coadjutor here
- Ramón Pastor BogarÃÂn Argaña (1954âÂÂ1957), appointed Bishop of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones
- AnÃÂbal Maricevich Fleitas (1957âÂÂ1965), appointed Bishop of Concepción y Chaco
- Felipe Santiago Benitez Avalos (1961âÂÂ1965), appointed Bishop of Villarrica (later returned here as Archbishop)
- Julio Benigno Laschi González (1965âÂÂ1969)
- Juan Moleón Andreu (1967âÂÂ1972), appointed Bishop of Paraguay, Military
- Jorge Adolfo Carlos Livieres Banks (1976âÂÂ1987), appointed Prelate of Encarnación
- Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga, C.Ss.R. (1982âÂÂ1992), appointed Bishop of Paraguay, Military (later returned here as Archbishop)
- Claudio Giménez Medina, P. Schönstatt (1991âÂÂ1995), appointed Bishop of Caacupé
- Ricardo Jorge Valenzuela Rios (1993âÂÂ2003), appointed Bishop of Paraguay, Military
- Adalberto MartÃÂnez Flores (1997âÂÂ2000), appointed Bishop of San Lorenzo
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
See also
References
External links