Antequera, Oaxaca, Archdiocese of

ANTEQUERA, OAXACA, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - It comprises a large part of the state of Oaxaca, in the southern region of Mexico, on the Pacific coast. Erected as a diocese by Paul III on 21 June 1535, it was elevated to an archdiocese by Leo XIII on 23 June 1891, with Angelopoli as its appellate ordinary. Up to now it has been governed by 30 bishops and two archbishops.

From the time of the conquest of Mexico, the region was evangelized by the Franciscans and the Dominicans. At present it has a Catholic population of 842,000 souls. The diocese is divided into 128 parishes, administered by 137 priests. The number of churches and chapels is about a thousand. A. possesses a cathedral in the Spanish Renaissance style, begun in 1553 and then almost completely rebuilt in 1702; a seminary called that of the Holy Cross, founded by Msgr. Tommaso di Monterroso, tenth bishop of the diocese (d. 1665). Worthy of note are the convent of St. Dominic and the church of the same name, in the Plateresque style, whose interior ornamentation is considered one of the richest in Mexico. The most famous sanctuary is that dedicated to Our Lady de La Soledad, patroness of the diocese.