Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Ayacucho

Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Ayacucho Apostolicus Vicariatus Portus Ayacuquensis
Location
Country	Venezuela
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 219,000 167,000 (76.3%)
Parishes	12
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	5 February 1932 (92 years ago)
Cathedral	Catedral María Auxiliadora
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Vicar Apostolic	José Angel Divassón Cilveti, S.D.B.

The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Puerto Ayacucho (Latin: Apostolicus Vicariatus Portus Ayacuquensis) is a missionary circonscription of the Roman Catholic Church.

Its cathedral see, Catedral María Auxiliadora, is located in the town of Puerto Ayacucho, in Venezuela's Amazonas state. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province.

History

On 5 February 1932 Pope Pius XI established the Prefecture Apostolic of Alto Orinoco from territory taken from the then Diocese of Santo Tomás de Guayana (which meanwhile became the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ciudad Bolívar).

It was elevated to a Vicariate Apostolic and given its present name by Pope Pius XII on 7 May 1953.

Incumbent Ordinaries

So far, all incumbents have been members of the missionary Salesians (S.D.B.) congregation

Apostolic Prefects of Alto Orinoco

• Enrico de Ferrari, S.D.B. † (14 Nov. 1932 - 3 Aug. 1945)
• Cosma Alterio, S.D.B. † (31 Jan. 1947 - 1950)
• Segundo García Fernández, S.D.B. † (21 Aug. 1950 - cfr. infra)

Apostolic Vicars

• Segundo García Fernández, S.D.B. † (cfr. supra- 5 Oct. 1974)
• Enzo Ceccarelli Catraro, S.D.B. † (5 Oct. 1974 - 23 Oct. 1989)
• Ignacio Velasco, S.D.B. † (23 Oct. 1989 - 27 May 1995) Appointed, Archbishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela
• José Angel Divassón Cilveti, S.D.B. (23 Feb. 1996 - present)

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Venezuela

External Links

• GigaCatholic, with more extensive ordinaries biographies