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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán is located in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico; Campeche and Tabasco are its suffragans. Its area is that of the state of the same name, 17,204 sq. miles. There is a legend that long before the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico the Christian religion had been preached in Yucatán by Quetzacoatl. Yucatán was the first region of the Mexican territory to encounter Christianity in the sixteenth century; it was there that the first Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated. It is said that in 1517 Francisco Hernández de Cordóba, the discoverer and explorer of the region, founded the first parish. Leo X, believing the newly-discovered land to be an island, by the Bull "Sacri apostolatus ministerio", dated 27 January 1518, created the Bishopric of Yucatán, under the name "Carolense" and placed it under the protection of "Santa Maria de los Remedios". When it was known that Yucatán was part of the continent which Hernán Cortés was conquering, Clement VII made certain modifications, and Father Julián Garcés, appointed first Bishop of Yucatán, to make his residence at Tlaxcala when he arrived in Mexico, as the Spanish had abandoned the conquest of Yucatán for this new land. The first resident bishop was Francisco Toral, a Franciscan, who took possession on 15 August 1562, one year after his election; he assisted at the first and second Mexican councils.
Marcos de Torres y Rueda, the twelfth bishop (1647), owing to dissensions between Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Bishop of Puebla, and Viceroy García Sarmiento de Sotomayor, 2nd conde de Salvatierra, was named Viceroy of New Spain and entered into office 13 May 1648; he died at the capital, 22 April 1649.
Juan Gómez de Parada, the twentieth bishop, governed the dioceses of Yucatán, Guatemala, and Guadalajara with great success. His successor, Ignacio Castorena y Ursúa, was the founder of the first newspaper published in Mexico. José María Guerra, thirty-fifth bishop (d. 1863), lived during the famous Caste War, which ruined almost the whole of Yucatán. It was at the instance of Leandro Rodríguez de la Gala, his successor, that the new See of Tabasco was formed from parishes taken from the Diocese of Yucatán. The Province and Vicariate of Petén, situated in Guatemala, which ecclesiastically had belonged to Yucatán, became a part of the See of Guatemala. Believing that the colony of Belize was his dependency, the bishop sent missionaries there in 1864; this land, however, had been under the administration of priests sent form the Vicariate Apostolic of Jamaica since 1837. The Diocese of Yucatán was suffragan of Mexico until 1891, when it became suffragan of the newly-created Archdiocese of Oaxaca. In 1895 the new See of Campeche was created from parishes taken from Yucatán, to which was added all the territory of Quintana Roo.
Bishops and Archbishops of Yucatán
- Msgr. Francisco del Toral, O.F.M. † (19 November 1561 – 20 April 1571
- Msgr. Diego de Landa, O.F.M. † (17 October 1572 – 29 April 1579)
- Msgr. Gregorio de Montalvo Olivera, O.P. † (15 December 1580 – 16 November 1587)
- Msgr. Juan de Izquierdo, O.F.M. † (13 June 1590 – 17 November 1602 )
- Msgr. Diego Vázquez de Mercado † (5 November 1603 – 28 March 1608)
- Msgr. Gonzalo de Salazar, O.S.A. † (2 June 1608 – 3 August 1636)
- Msgr. Juan Alonso y Ocón † (14 June 1638 – 31 August 1643)
- Msgr. Andres Fernandez de Ipenza † (5 October 1643 – 24 October 1643)
- Msgr. Marcos de Torres y Rueda † (12 May 1644 – 22 April 1649)
- Msgr. Domingo de Villaescusa y Ramírez de Arellano, O.S.H. † (2 December 1651 – 2 July 1652)
- Msgr. Luís de Cifuentes y Sotomayor, O.P. † (11 November 1657 – 18 May 1676)
- Msgr. Juan de Escalante Turcios y Mendoza † (20 March 1677 – 31 May 1681)
- Msgr. Juan Cano Sandoval † (17 December 1682 – 20 February 1695)
- Msgr. Antonio de Arriaga y Agüero, O.S.A. † (18 April 1696 – 24 November 1698)
- Msgr. Pedro de los Reyes Ríos de la Madrid, O.S.B. † (11 March 1700 – 6 January 1714)
- Msgr. Juan Leandro Gómez de Parada Valdez y Mendoza † (7 December 1715 – 14 December 1728)
- Msgr. Juan Ignacio de Castorena y Ursúa y Goyeneche † (6 July 1729 – 13 July 1733)
- Msgr. Francisco Pablo Matos Coronado † ( 1734 – 2 January 1741)
- Msgr. Mateo de Zamora y PenAugusts, O.F.M. † (6 March 1741 – 9 August 1744)
- Msgr. Francisco de San Buenaventura Martínez de Tejada y Díez de Velasco, O.F.M. † (23 August 1745 – 20 December 1751)
- Msgr. Juan José de Eguiara y Eguren † (24 January 1752 – 6 July 1752)
- Msgr. Ignacio Padilla Estrada, O.S.A. † (28 May 1753 – 20 July 1760)
- Msgr. Antonio Alcalde y Barriga, O.P. † (25 January 1762 – 19 August 1771)
- Msgr. Diego Bernardo de Peredo y Navarrete † (22 June 1772 – 21 March 1774)
- Msgr. Antonio Caballero y Góngora † (11 September 1775 – 14 December 1778)
- Msgr. Luis Tomás Esteban de Piña y Mazo, O.S.B. † (12 July 1779 – 22 November 1795)
- Msgr. Pedro Agustín Estévez y Ugarte † (24 July 1797 – 8 May 1827)
- Msgr. José María Guerra y Rodríguez Correa † (17 December 1832 – 3 February 1863)
- Msgr. Leandro Rodríguez de la Gala y Enríquez † (22 June 1868 – 15 February 1887)
- Msgr. Crescencio Carrillo y Ancona † (15 February 1887 – 19 March 1897)
- Msgr. José Guadalupe de Jesús de Alba y Franco, O.F.M. † (28 November 1898 – 14 December 1899)
- Msgr. Martín Tritschler y Córdoba † (28 July 1900 – 20 June 1941)
- Msgr. Fernando Ruiz y Solózarno † (22 January 1944 – 15 May 1969)
- Msgr. Manuel Castro Ruiz (20 September 1969 – 15 March 1995)
- Msgr. Emilio Carlos Berlie Belaunzarán (15 March 1995 – )
See also
This article incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia.
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