Roman Catholic Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Comodoro is located in the city of Comodoro, in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina.

Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia Dioecesis Rivi Nigri Vallensis Superioris Diócesis de Comodoro Rivadavia
Cathedral of St. John Bosco
Location
Country	Argentina
Ecclesiastical province	Bahía Blanca
Metropolitan	Bahía Blanca
Statistics
Area	234,000 km2 (90,000 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 422,000 353,000 (83.6%)
Parishes	33
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	11 February 1957 (67 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of St John Bosco in Comodoro Rivadavia
Patron saint	St John Bosco
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Sede vacante
Metropolitan Archbishop	Carlos Alfonso Azpiroz Costa
Apostolic Administrator	Roberto Pío Álvarez
Bishops emeritus	Joaquin Gimeno Lahoz

Diocese

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia encompasses 234,000 km² (90,382 Square Miles) of central Patagonia covering the Province of Chubut. The Diocese was founded in 1957 from part of the Diocese of Viedma. In 1961, its southern half became the separate Diocese of Río Gallegos. In 2009, part of the diocese became the Territorial Prelature of Esquel. It is a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca.

The Cathedral is located in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia. It is dedicated to San Juan Bosco, the only cathedral in the world dedicated to the founder of the Salesian Order. It was inaugurated in 1979, although the crypt had been dedicated in 1949.

In 2024 the Apostolic Administrator, bishop Roberto Álvarez, described the religious landscape of Patagonia as mission territory. "The Patagonian Church is special, and very different from the rest of Argentina. For example, we are a land of evangelisation, a mission country. This region does not have deep Christian roots".

Bishops

Ordinaries

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Comodoro Rivadavia is a prelate bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina.

• Carlos Mariano Pérez Eslava S.D.B.(13 March 1957 – 26 December 1963, appointed Archbishop of Salta)
• Eugenio Santiago Peyrou S.D.B. (24 June 1964 – 19 February 1974)
• Argimiro Daniel Moure Piñeiro S.D.B. (5 April 1975 – 8 September 1992)
• Pedro Luis Ronchino S.D.B. (30 January 1993 – 19 February 2005)
• Virginio Domingo Bressanelli S.C.I. (19 February 2005 – 10 February 2010); appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Neuquen
• Joaquin Gimeno Lahoz (15 July 2010 – present); formerly Vicar General of the diocese

Auxiliary bishops

• Mario Picchi, S.D.B. (1970-1975), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata
• Fernando Martín Croxatto (2014-2017), appointed Bishop of Neuquén
• Roberto Pío Álvarez (2017-
• Alejandro Pablo Benna]] (2017-

See also

• Catholic Church in Argentina

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy: Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia ^{[self-published]}
• Comodoro Rivadavia Diocese Archived 2019-01-09 at the Wayback Machine (Spanish)