Diocese of Willemstad
Gulielmopolitan(us)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Willemstad, Aruba
Latin-rite diocese covering the Dutch Caribbean (Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba), erected 28 April 1958 from a vicariate apostolic dating to 1842, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain. Its seat is the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Willemstad. The see has been vacant since 7 January 2025, with Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon serving as apostolic administrator.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 28 April 1958
- Latin
- Gulielmopolitan(us)
- Annuario code
- 001000156
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 247,320
- Population
- 295,264
- Catholic share
- 83.8%
- Priests
- 52
- Catholics per priest
- 4,756
- Extent
- 993 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 249
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Apostolic Administrator of Willemstad
- Charles Jason Gordon
- Born
- 17 March 1959
- Birthplace
- Port of Spain
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, Willemstad stands in Willemstad, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Port of Spain
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Port of Spain.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of BridgetownBridgetown
- Diocese of GeorgetownGeorgetown
- Diocese of ParamariboParamaribo
- Archdiocese of Port of SpainPort of Spain
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Catholics of the Dutch Caribbean belong to the Diocese of Willemstad (Latin: Dioecesis Gulielmopolitana; Dutch: Bisdom Willemstad; Papiamento: Diosesano (di Obispado) di Willemstad), a Latin Church see whose territory is the Caribbean portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the countries (Dutch: landen) Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (the southern half of St. Martin), together with the islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, which are part of the Netherlands. The cathedra stands in the city of Curaçao.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].