Apostolic Exarchate of America Latina e Messico
Americae Latinae una cum Mexico
Eastern exarchate immediately subject to the Holy See · Armenian Catholic Church · São Paulo, Brazil
Armenian rite apostolic exarchate serving Armenian Catholic faithful across Latin America and Mexico, established on 3 July 1981, with its seat in Sao Paulo, Brazil; it lost territory in 1989 to create the Eparchy of San Gregorio de Narek en Buenos Aires. The see has been vacant since Bishop Pablo Leon Hakimian died in November 2024; Bishop Vartan Waldir Boghossian, S.D.B. was named apostolic administrator on 31 March 2025.
The see
- Rank
- Eastern exarchate immediately subject to the Holy See
- Tradition
- Armenian Catholic Church
- Erected
- 3 July 1981
- Latin
- Americae Latinae una cum Mexico
- Annuario code
- 001000311
The bishop
- Apostolic Administrator
- Odilo Pedro Scherer (Apostolic Administrator)
- Born
- 21 September 1949
- Birthplace
- Cerro Largo
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
St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral (Catedral de São Gregório, o Iluminador), São Paulo stands in São Paulo, 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.
History
Serving parts of Latin America, the Armenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Latin America and Mexico (América Latina e México) is a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholic Church sui iuris, which follows the Armenian Rite in the Armenian language. It is exempt, depending directly on Rome (notably the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches) rather than belonging to any ecclesiastical province. Its cathedral episcopal is the Catedral Armênia São Gregório Iluminador in São Paulo, Brazil, with Nuestra Señora de Bzommar in Montevideo, Uruguay, as co-cathedral.
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 · GCatholic
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].