Diocese of Santa María de Los Ángeles

This article is about the diocese in Chile. For the archdiocese in California, United States, see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Diocese of Santa María de Los Ángeles Dioecesis Sanctae Mariae Angelorum Diócesis de Santa María de Los Angeles
Location
Country	Chile
Ecclesiastical province	Concepción
Metropolitan	Concepción
Statistics
Area	13,454 km2 (5,195 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2023) 383,850 230,240 (60.0%)
Parishes	25
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	20 June 1959 (1959-06-20)
Cathedral	St. Mary of the Angels Cathedral
Patron saint	Our Lady of Angels
Secular priests	43 (36 Diocesan, 7 Religious Orders)
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Cristián Castro Toovey
Metropolitan Archbishop	Sergio Hernán Pérez de Arce Arraigada, SS.CC.
Bishops emeritus	Felipe Bacarreza
Website
www.obispadolosangeles.cl

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa María de Los Ángeles (Latin: Sanctae Mariae Angelorum) is a diocese located in the city of Los Ángeles in the ecclesiastical province of Concepción in Chile.

History

• 20 June 1959: Established as Diocese of Los Ángeles from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Concepción and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Temuco

Bishops

• Bishops of Santa María de Los Ángeles (Roman rite), in reverse chronological order
  • Cristián Castro Toovey (2024.03.23 – Present)
  • Felipe Bacarreza (2006.01.07 – 2024.03.23), retired
  • Miguel Caviedes Medina (1994.02.19 – 2006.01.07), retired
  • Adolfo Rodríguez Vidal (1988.07.06 – 1994.02.19), resigned
  • Orozimbo Fuenzalida y Fuenzalida (1970.02.26 – 1987.07.13), appointed Bishop of San Bernardo
  • Alejandro Durán Moreira (1966.03.31 – 1970.02.02), appointed Bishop of Rancagua
  • Luis Yáñez Ruiz Tagle, O.F.M. (1964.03.21 – 1965.11.21)
  • Manuel Sánchez Beguiristáin (1959.12.17 – 1963.06.25), appointed Archbishop of Concepción

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

• Tomás Carrasco Cortés (2001-2023), appointed Bishop of San Juan Bautista de Calama
• Francisco Javier Stegmeier Schmidlin (1988-2009), appointed Bishop of Villarrica

Sources

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy
• Diocese website