Catholic Intelligence

Archdiocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Sanctae Crucis de Sierra

Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese in eastern Bolivia, erected as the Diocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra on 5 July 1605 and elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese on 30 July 1975. Its seat is the Cathedral-Basilica of San Lorenzo in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Archbishop Rene Leigue Cesari has led the archdiocese since 22 April 2022.

The see

Rank
Metropolitan see
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
5 July 1605
Latin
Sanctae Crucis de Sierra
Annuario code
001002945

The see in figures

Catholics
1,805,000
Population
2,291,000
Catholic share
78.8%

of the people living within its bounds

Priests
239
Catholics per priest
7,552
Extent
50,000 km²
Catholics per km²
36

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

Archbishop
Rene Leigue Cesari
Born
24 March 1967
Birthplace
Nuevo Horizonte

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

Cathedral-Basilica of San Lorenzo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra stands in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra

This see is the metropolitan of its province.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Erected by Pope Paul V on July 5, 1605 as the Diocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, this Bolivian see (Latin: Archidioecesis Sanctae Crucis de Sierra) was raised to a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Paul VI on July 30, 1975, receiving San Ignacio de Velasco as its suffragan see. Its archbishop, currently René Leigue Cesari, is seated at the Cathedral-Basilica of San Lorenzo.

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.

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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].