Roman Catholic Diocese of La Guaira

The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Guaira (Latin: Dioecesis Guairiensis) is a diocese located in the city of La Guaira in the ecclesiastical province of Caracas in Venezuela.

Diocese of La Guaira Dioecesis Guairiensis
Location
Country	Venezuela
Ecclesiastical province	Caracas
Statistics
Area	1,497 km2 (578 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 325,000 295,750 (91.0%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	15 April 1970 (54 years ago)
Cathedral	St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Vacant
Map

History

On 15 April 1970 Pope Paul VI established the Diocese of La Guaira from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Caracas.

Our Lady of Lourdes Pilgrimage

La Guaira is home to the oldest pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes in Latin America. The devotion began in 1884 when a Venezuelan priest, Fr Machado, returned from a pilgrimage to the original Lourdes grotto in France. He established a shrine in the mountain of El Ávila. Every year, with only very few exceptions, a 20 Km pilgrimage takes place along the Camiño de los Españoles, beginning in Puerto Caracas and ending in the church of St Sebastian, in Maiquetía.

Bishops

Ordinaries

• Marcial Augusto Ramírez Ponce (1970.04.15 – 1972.12.05), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela
• Francisco de Guruceaga Iturriza (1973.10.02 – 2001.10.18)
• José de la Trinidad Valera Angulo (2001.10.18 – 2011.10.12), appointed Bishop of Guanare
• Raúl Biord Castillo, S.D.B. (2013.11.30 - 2024.07.28), appointed Archbishop of Caracas

Coadjutor bishop

• Rafael Ramón Conde Alfonzo (1997-1999), did not succeed to see; appointed Bishop of Margarita

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

• Ricardo Aldo Barreto Cairo, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela in 2019

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Venezuela

External links

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy ^{[self-published]}