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Diocese of Ponce

*Dioecesis Poncensis*

Diócesis de Ponce
Diocese of Ponce; Dioecesis Poncensis; Diócesis de Ponce
	Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
	Coat of arms
Location
Country	Puerto Rico
Territory	Southern portion of Puerto Rico
Ecclesiastical province	San Juan de Puerto Rico
Statistics
Area	2,045 km2 (790 sq mi)
Population; - Total; - Catholics	(as of 2004); 593,548; 474,959 (80%)
Parishes	42
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	21 November 1924 (100 years ago)
Cathedral	Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina
Bishops emeritus	Félix Lázaro Martínez
Map

The Diocese of Ponce (Latin: Dioecesis Poncensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States and consists of the southern part of the island of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States. The diocese is led by a prelate bishop who pastors the mother church in the City of Ponce, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Its current bishop is S.E.R. Mons. Rubén Antonio González Medina, C.M.F. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Guánica, Guayanilla, Yauco, Peñuelas, Ponce, Juana Díaz, Villalba, Coamo, Santa Isabel, Salinas, Guayama, Arroyo, and Patillas.^[2]

History

In 1978, Bishop Fremiot Torres Oliver acquired a large property in the Rio Chiquito sector of Barrio Portugués where the Diocese is currently (2019) located.^[3]

Spanish colonial system

Under the Spanish colonial system (1692–1898) the Diocese of Ponce operated and its bishop in 1877 was Juan Puig.^[4] From 25 October 1892 to 1897, the bishop was Lorenzo Roura y Bayer.^[5]

Other Padres Paules bishops at the Cathedral were:^[6]

Lorenzo Roura y Bayer (25 October 1892 – 1897)
Leonardo G. Villanueva (1897–1898)
Sturnino Janices (1997–1898)
Francisco Vicario (1898–1905)
Luis Vega (1905–1911)
Cipariano Peña (1911–1919)
Florencio Garcia (1919–1927)
Manuel Peña (1927–1931)
Gonzalo de la Guerra (1931–1937)
Deogracias Morondo (1937–1940)
Toribio Marijuan (1940–1945)
Mariano Bravo (1945–1948)
Epifanio Garcia (1948–1957)
Jose Carrasco (1957)

From 1970 on, Padres Paules left Ponce and the Cathedral was then run by the Diocese of Ponce directly.^[7]

Commonwealth

The See of Ponce was canonically erected on 21 November 1924, and is a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Province of San Juan de Puerto Rico.^[8]

San Juan Archdiocese bankruptcy

On 7 September 2018, Judge Edward Godoy ruled that the bankruptcy filed by the Archdiocese of San Juan would also apply to every Catholic diocese in Puerto Rico, including Ponce, and that all would now have their assets protected under Chapter 11.^[9]^[10]

Bishops

Bishops of Ponce

Edwin Byrne (1925–1929), appointed Bishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico
Aloysius Joseph Willinger (1929–1946), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Fresno
James Edward McManus (1947–1963), resigned
Luis Aponte Martinez (1963–1964), appointed Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico
Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver (1964–2000), retired
Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (2000–2003), retired
Félix Lázaro Martínez (2003–2015), retired
Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina, C.M.F. (2015–present)^[11]

Coadjutor bishops

Luis Aponte Martinez (1963–1963)
Félix Lázaro Martinez (2002–2003)

Auxiliary bishops

Luis Aponte Martinez (1960–1963), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Ponce
Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (1975–2000), appointed Bishop of Ponce

Parish churches

Parish churches listed by founding dates:

1616 – Iglesia San Blas de Illescas – Coamo
1692 – Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe – Ponce
1736 – San Antonio de Padua – Guayama
1756 – Ntra. Sra. del Rosario – Yauco
1793 – San José – Peñuelas
1798 – Iglesia San Ramón Nonato – Juana Díaz
1811 – Inmaculado Corazón de María – Patillas
1815 – San Joaquín y Santa Ana – Adjuntas
1840 – Inmaculada Concepción – Guayanilla
1854 – Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate – Salinas
1854 – Santiago Apóstol – Santa Isabel
1855 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Arroyo
1883 – Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate – Jayuya
1883 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Playa (Ponce)
1888 – San Antonio Abad – Guánica
1917 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Villalba
1928 – Ntra. Sra. de la Medalla Milagrosa – Ponce
1928 – Ntra. Sra. de la Merced – Ponce
1930 – Santa Teresita – Ponce
1946 – Sagrado Corazón – Aguirre
1948 – San Conrado – Ponce
1952 – Santa María Reina – Ponce
1959 – Sagrado Corazón de Jesús – Tallaboa (Peñuelas)
1962 – Ntra. Sra. de la Divina Providencia – Villalba
1963 – Sagrado Corazón – Ensenada (Guánica)
1964 – San Vicente de Paúl – Ponce
1964 – San Judas Tadeo – Ponce
1964 – Cristo Rey – Ponce
1965 – San José – Ponce
1967 – La Resurrección – Ponce
1968 – Buen Pastor – Ponce
1969 – San Martín de Porres – Yauco
1969 – Corazón de Jesús – Ponce
1969 – Ntra. Sra. de la Medalla Milagrosa – Castañer (Adjuntas)
1971 – Santísima Trinidad – Ponce
1973 – Ntra. Sra. del Carmen – Coto Laurel (Ponce)
1979 – San José Obrero – Ponce
1984 – Ntra. Sra. de Lourdes – Aguilita (Juana Díaz)
1984 – Santa Teresita – Arús (Juana Díaz)
1986 – Santísimo Sacramento – Ponce
2001 – Santo Domingo de Guzmán – Yauco
2001 – San Antonio de Padua – Coamo
2005 – Santos Apóstoles Pedro y Pablo – Guayama

References

^ Diocese of Ponce: Statistics. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
^ Diocesis de Ponce. Accessed 10 June 2018.
^ Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas Para Su Historia. p. 20
^ Ramon Marin. La Villa de Ponce Considerada en tres distintas épocas: Estudio Histórico, Descriptivo, y Estadístico, hasta fines del año 1876. Ponce, PR: Establecimiento Tipográfico "El Vapor". 1877. (Section III of Ramon Marin's Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. p.191. San Juan, PR: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994.)
^ Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce: Notas para su Historia. San Juan, PR: Comite Historia de los Pueblos. Segunda Edición. 1986. p. 18.
^ Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para Su Historia. 1986. pp. 18-19.
^ Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para Su Historia. 1986. p. 19.
^ Diocese of Ponce: General Information. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
^ "Federal judge decides that bankruptcy filing applies to all of Puerto Rico's Roman Catholic churches". Pasquines. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^ "Judge: Bankruptcy applies to all Puerto Rico Catholic churches". Caribbean Business. 7 September 2018.
^ Diocesis of Ponce Via: Directorio Diocesano > Episcopologio Ponceño > Diócesis de Ponce. Retrieved February 16, 2011.