The Catholic Church in Puerto Rico is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope in Rome. The 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico have a Catholic church which is located in the downtown area, normally across from the central plaza.
In Puerto Rico, the founding of a town (or municipio) very much depended on the building of a church, a town hall, a butcher's shop and a cemetery. The citizens of the town constructed and decorated the church. [1] As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called pueblo until it was called barrio-pueblo in 1990 by the US census. The barrio-pueblo of a municipio contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church.
It is near the church, which fronts the town's plaza, that fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in every year. The Laws of the Indies, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "the parties" (celebrations, festivities) (Spanish : a propósito para las fiestas), and that the square was to be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors (Spanish : grandeza proporcionada al número de vecinos). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain. [2] The church buildings themselves have been restored many times over the years and are an important part of Puerto Rico's architectural history. [1]
During Puerto Rico's transition from Spanish rule to United States rule in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Roman Catholic Church laid claim to many properties located in Puerto Rico. An agreement was reached and a payment of $180,000 was made in three equal installments to the Catholic Church for the properties. [3] Juan Perpiña y Pibernat was the priest who presided over the church in Puerto Rico during that time of transition. Henry K. Carroll, Special Commissioner for the United States, studied the situation in Puerto Rico and reported back that up until then, black clerics (cléricos negros) had been prohibited by Spain. Further analysis by Samuel Silva Gotay says that the church had chosen to ally with the hacienda owners more than with the common people before, during and after slavery had been abolished. [4] [5]
The CIA World Factbook reports that 85% of the population of Puerto Rico is Catholic, with the remaining 15% divided among Protestantism, Islam, and Judaism. However, the CIA report provides no date or source for the data; it may be outdated. Some sources, including Pew Research Center, put the Catholic percentage at approximately 70%. [6] An Associated Press article in March 2014 stated that "more than 70 percent of whom identify themselves as Catholic" but provided no source for this information (they may have used the 2010 Pew Research data). [7]
However, in a November 2014 report, with the sub-title Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region, Pew Research indicated that only 56% of Puerto Ricans were Catholic and that 33% were Protestant; this survey was completed between October 2013 and February 2014. [8]
When discussing Catholicism in Puerto Rico, Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan offered this comment in 2007. "Its deepest roots are Latino ... U.S. rule began in 1898, at the end of the Spanish–American War, but indigenous, African and Spanish cultures "shaped its identity for 400 years" and that influence "cannot be undone overnight”. The shift from Spanish to U.S. rule brought a wave of anti-Catholic sentiment that led to the prohibition of the processions that are a mainstay of Latin American religious practice, as well as government policies that prohibited schools from teaching in Spanish. Since the approval of the Puerto Rican Constitution in 1952, popular religious traditions such as processions and festivals honoring communities' patron saints have taken root again. [9]
There is also a Byzantine Catholic community of the St. Spyridon Parish in Trujillo Alto under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Roberto González Nieves. [10]
The following are the names of the 78 municipality Catholic parish churches in Puerto Rico: [1]
On January 11, 2018 Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of San Juan filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating that the current pension plan was unworkable and applied for a new plan which has an estimated $10 million in assets and $10 million in liabilities. [11] On March 27, 2018, local Judge Anthony Cuevas issued an embargo against the Archdiocese of San Juan which would remain in effect until they could find $4.7 million to pay for the teachers pension. [12] It was also ruled that the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico was a single entity and that the embargo would apply to all the suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of San Juan. [13] [12] On August 30, 2018, the Archdiocese of San Juan filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, noting that they were unable to find the $4.7 million. [14] Federal Judge Edward Godoy protected the archdiocese under Chapter 11, paralyzing the seizure of assets and helping them avoid the owed retirement payments. [13] However, it was also ruled that the bankruptcy would apply to all the other Catholic dioceses in Puerto Rico. [13]
The bishops in Puerto Rico form the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference (Spanish : Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña). [15] [16] The episcopal conference allows the bishops to set certain norms for all of Puerto Rico, including the form of the liturgy.
The Diocese of Ponce 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.
The Diocese of Mayagüez is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States and consists of the western part of the island of Puerto Rico, an American commonwealth. The diocese is led by a prelate bishop, who pastors the motherchurch in the City of Mayagüez, Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria in front of the Plaza Colón.
The Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de San Juan Bautista, or in English, Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, is the Catholic cathedral for the Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. It is one of the oldest buildings in Old San Juan, the oldest cathedral in the United States, the second-oldest existing cathedral in the Americas, and the third cathedral constructed in the Americas.
The Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce located in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico. The cathedral lies in the middle of Ponce's town square, known as Plaza Las Delicias, located at the center of the Ponce Historic Zone. For its historic significance, the cathedral was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is the seat of the Bishop of Ponce, currently Rubén González Medina.
The Archdiocese of Puerto Montt is a Metropolitan See of the Roman Catholic church, in Chile. Its suffragan dioceses are: Osorno, San Carlos de Ancud and Punta Arenas.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Aysén is a Latin Church missionary ecclesiastical territory or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in Chile. Originally, it was established as an apostolic prefecture on 17 February 1940 by Pope Pius XII and was subsequently elevated to apostolic vicariate on 8 May 1955. Its current bishop is Mgr. Luigi Infanti della Mora, O.S.M.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Talca,, is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Santiago de Chile. Its current bishop, Galo Fernández Villaseca, was appointed on 20 March 2021. The diocesan cathedral is in the city of Talca.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Osorno is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Puerto Montt, in Chile. The diocese was established on 15 November 1955 by Pope Pius XII by means of the papal bull Christianorum qui in Diocesibus.
The Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, or in English Our Lady of the Candelaria Cathedral, is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mayagüez located in the eastern end of the Colón Main Square facing the town hall in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Arroyo barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Arroyo, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,206.
Hatillo barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Hatillo, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 3,117.
Moca barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Moca, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,735.
