The Catholic Church in Peru is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Peruvian Episcopal Conference.
Catholics compose an estimated 76% of Peru's population,[1] according to the 2017 census.[2] In 2020, there were over 3,000 priests and over 9,000 nuns serving across 1,670 parishes;[3] the church also ran 136 hospitals and homes for the old and infirm.
Peru has produced two famous saints, St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres, as well as two Blesseds, Ana de los Ángeles (Ana Monteagudo Ponce de León) and Antonia Luzmila Rivas López (María Agustina).[4]
In 2023, the Cardinal of Peru was Pedro Barreto.[5]
Demographics
editCatholicism has been decreasing for many decades. According to the different census, in 1940, 98.5% of the Peruvian population adhered to Catholicism, decreasing to 94.6% in 1981 and to 81.3% in 2007.
| Year | Percent | Decrease |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 98.5% | - |
| 1961 | 97.3% | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 96.4% | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 94.6% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 89.0% | -5.6% |
| 2007 | 81.3% | -7.7% |
| 2017 | 76.0% | -5.3% |
Dioceses
editThe Peruvian Catholic Church is divided into dioceses and archdioceses:
Province of Arequipa
edit- Archdiocese of Arequipa
- Diocese of Puno
- Diocese of Tacna
- Prelature of Ayaviri
- Prelature of Chuquibamba
- Prelature of Juli
- Prelature of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané
Province of Ayacucho
editProvince of Cusco
editProvince of Huancayo
editProvince of Lima
edit- Archdiocese of Lima
- Diocese of Callao
- Diocese of Carabayllo
- Diocese of Chosica
- Diocese of Huacho
- Diocese of Ica
- Diocese of Lurín
- Prelature of Yauyos
Province of Piura
edit- Archdiocese of Piura
- Diocese of Chiclayo
- Diocese of Chachapoyas
- Diocese of Chulucanas
- Prelature de Chota
Province of Trujillo
edit- Archdiocese of Trujillo
- Diocese of Cajamarca
- Diocese of Chimbote
- Diocese of Huaraz
- Diocese of Huari
- Prelature of Moyobamba
- Prelature of Huamachuco
Apostolic Vicariates
edit- Apostolic Vicariate of San José de Amazonas
- Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos
- Apostolic Vicariate of Jaén in Peru or Saint Francis Xavier
- Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Maldonado
- Apostolic Vicariate of Pucallpa
- Apostolic Vicariate of Requena
- Apostolic Vicariate of San Ramón
- Apostolic Vicariate of Yurimaguas
Military Ordinariate
editSee also
editSources
edit- ^ Latinobarometro, Opinion Publica Latinoamericana, Enero 2018.
- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
- ^ G Catholic website, Saints page, retrieved 2023-08-28
- ^ "Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli, 28.06.2018" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.