CAMPECHE, Diocese of. - In the Republic of Mexico, erected by Leo XIII on 2 Dec. 1895 with the constitution Praedecessorum nostrorum, detaching it from the diocese of Yucatán, of which it is now a suffragan. Up to now it has been governed by 7 bishops.

It comprises the State of C. and a good part of the federal territory of Quintana Roo, with an area of 71,000 sq. km. and a population of 110,000 inhabitants (half Indians and the other half whites or mestizos); 109,000 Catholics.

The diocese has 67 churches and is divided into 19 parishes, with 16 diocesan priests and 3 regulars (1948). The scarcity of clergy is due in part to the recent religious persecutions, during which the seminary and the Catholic schools were closed.

The episcopal see is C., formerly S. Francisco de C., founded by Francisco de Montojo in 1540. Immediately after the founding of the city, construction began on the first church, S. Maria de la Concepción, now the cathedral, an imposing and massive building like a fortress. The first missionaries of the region were the Franciscans, alongside whom, from 1572, the Jesuits also worked. Well-known shrines are those of Our Lady of Hool and S. Roma.

Bibliography5 works

BIBL.: M. Cuevas, Historia de la Iglesia en Mexico, I, Tlalpam 1921, p. 354; II, ivi 1922, pp. 24, 162; III, ivi 1924, pp. 24, 26, 337; V. Santa Julia 1926, p. 112; A. Marcilla, s. v. in Cath. Enc., III, p. 222.

Francisco Aguilera

@incollection{ec3_campeche_diocesi_di, author = {Aguilera, Francesco}, title = {Campeche, diocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {469--470}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/campeche-diocesi-di} }

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Campeche, Diocese of

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