Roman Catholic Diocese of Irapuato

Roman Catholic diocese in Mexico

Diocese of Irapuato Dioecesis Irapuatensis Diócesis de Irapuato

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
Location
Country	Mexico
Ecclesiastical province	Province of León
Metropolitan	Irapuato, Guanajuato
Statistics
Area	1,844 sq mi (4,780 km²)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 1,094,160 1,077,110 (98.4%)
Parishes	61
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	3 January 2004 (20 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of Solitude
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Enrique Díaz Díaz
Metropolitan Archbishop	Alfonso Cortés Contreras
Bishops emeritus	José de Jesús Martínez Zepeda
Map

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Irapuato (Latin: Dioecesis Irapuatensis) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of León in southern Mexico.

Its cathedral Episcopal see is Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, at Irapuato, Guanajuato.

History

Established on 3 January 2004 as Diocese of Irapuato / Irapuaten(sis) (Latin adjective), on territories split off from the Diocese of León and the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Morelia. It was a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí until 25 November 2006.

Luis Esteban Zavala Rodríguez, a diocesan priest, was condemned to 65 years and three months in prison and fined MXN $61,000 in January 2021 for raping a 12-year-old girl as she took catechism classes at a church in Irapuato. The diocese released a statement saying it was respectful of the civil authorities and committed to truth and transparency, "as well as to respect and protection of any person, without discrimination, particularly with children, adolescents, and young people, and with vulnerable people ”.^[1]

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,427,998 Catholics (98.4% of 1,451,090 total) on 4,775 km² in 68 parishes and 38 missions with 168 priests (123 diocesan, 45 religious), 2 deacons, 278 lay religious (50 brothers, 228 sisters) and 75 seminarians.

Bishops

(all Roman Rite)

Episcopal ordinaries

Suffragan Bishops of Irapuato

José de Jesús Martínez Zepeda (2004.01.03 – retired 2017.03.11), previously Titular Bishop of Naratcata (1997.03.11 – 2004.01.03) as Auxiliary Bishop of México (City, capital of Mexico) (1997.03.11 – 2004.01.03)
Enrique Díaz Díaz (2017.03.11 – ...), previously Titular Bishop of Izirzada (2003.04.30 – 2014.05.15) as Auxiliary Bishop of San Cristóbal de las Casas (Mexico) (2003.04.30 – 2014.05.15), next Coadjutor Bishop of San Cristóbal de las Casas (2014.05.15 – 2017.03.11).

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

José Guadalupe Torres Campos, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua in 2005
Francisco González Ramos, appointed Bishop of Izcalli, México in 2014

References

^ "Condenaron a 65 años de prisión a cura que violó a una niña en Guanajuato". infobae (in European Spanish). Infobae. January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.