Roman Catholic Diocese of Copiapó

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Copiapó (Latin: Copiapoën(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Copiapó in the ecclesiastical province of La Serena in Chile.

Diocese of Copiapó Dioecesis Copiapoënsis Diócesis de Copiapó
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary
Location
Country	Chile
Ecclesiastical province	La Serena
Metropolitan	La Serena
Statistics
Area	80,000 km^2 (31,000 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 254,336 193,524 (76.1%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	9 November 1946 (77 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Copiapó
Patron saint	Our Lady of the Rosary
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Ricardo Basilio Morales Galindo, O. de M.
Metropolitan Archbishop	René Osvaldo Rebolledo Salinas
Bishops emeritus	Gaspar Francisco Quintana Jorquera, C.M.F.
Website
diocesisdecopiapo.cl

History

• 9 November 1946: Established as Apostolic Administration of Copiapó
• 21 April 1955: Promoted as Territorial Prelature of Copiapó
• 31 October 1957: Promoted as Diocese of Copiapó

Leadership, in reverse chronological order

• Bishop Ricardo Basilio Morales Galindo, O. de M. (2020.06.20 – present)
• Bishop Celestino Aós Braco, O.F.M. Cap. (2014.10.18 – 2019.03.23), appointed Apostolic Administrator of Santiago de Chile
• Bishop Gaspar Quintana Jorquera, C.M.F. (2001.05.26 – 2014.07.25)
• Bishop Fernando Ariztía Ruiz (1976.12.11 – 2001.05.26)
• Bishop Carlos Marcio Camus Larenas (1968.01.31 – 1976.12.11), appointed Bishop of Linares
• Bishop Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín (1958.06.15 – 1967.06.28), appointed Archbishop of La Serena; future Cardinal
• Bishop Francisco de Borja Valenzuela Ríos (1955.06.27 – 1957.08.20), appointed Bishop of Antofagasta; future Archbishop
• Archbishop Alfredo Cifuentes Gómez (Apostolic Administrator 1947.03.19 – 1948.06.17)

Sources

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy
• Diocesan website

27°21′58″S 70°20′00″W / 27.3661°S 70.3333°W / -27.3661; -70.3333