Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Ayacucho

The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Puerto Ayacucho (Latin: Apostolicus Vicariatus Portus Ayacuquensis) is a Latin Church missionary ecclesiastical jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in Venezuela.

Its cathedral see, Catedral María Auxiliadora, is located in the town of Puerto Ayacucho, in Venezuela's Amazonas state. It is immediately exempt to the Holy See and 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.^[1][2]

Incumbent Ordinaries

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

• 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)

• 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)

Sources and references