Pope Leo XIV appoints Carlos Tomás Morel Diplán as Archbishop of Santo Domingo

Pope Leo XIV appointed Carlos Tomás Morel Diplán as the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, according to a Vatican Press Office announcement on October 12. Morel Diplán succeeds Francisco Ozoria Acosta, whose resignation the Pope accepted after Ozoria reached the episcopal retirement age of 75.

Morel Diplán, who has served as coadjutor archbishop with the right of succession since October 18, 2025, also assumes the role of Military Ordinary of the Dominican Republic. He takes over this position from Ozoria, who is now archbishop emeritus.

Ozoria, who had governed the archdiocese since 2016, offered a Mass of thanksgiving for his years of service at the Santo Domingo cathedral on October 11. Born in 1969 in Espaillat Province, Morel Diplán was ordained a priest on June 24, 2000, and holds a license in theology moral from the Academia Alfonsiana de Roma.