The Archdiocese of Bogotá (Spanish: Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Bogotá; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in Colombia. It was established in 1562 as the Diocese of Santa Fe en Nueva Granada, elevated to an archdiocese two years later, and was given its current name in 1891. It serves nearly 3.8 million Catholics in Bogotá and parts of the Cundinamarca Department, and covers a total area of 4,109 km2 (1,552 square miles). The current metropolitan archbishop is Luis José Rueda Aparicio since 2020. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bogotá, which includes six suffragan dioceses: The archdiocese's territory covers 14 of the 20 localities (administrative districts) of the city of Bogotá and 11 municipalities in the Cundinamarca Department. Prior to 2003, when three new urban dioceses were created, the archdiocese included all of Bogotá. The mother church of the archdiocese, and the seat of the archbishop, is the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, located in Bolívar Square in Bogotá. Besides the archbishop, Luis José Rueda Aparicio, the archdiocese has two auxiliary bishops, Luis Manuel Alí Herrera and Pedro Manuel Salamanca Mantilla. The archdiocese is served by around 800 priests, 100 deacons, and nearly 1,500 religious sisters. The Archdiocese of Bogotá has 275 parishes, containing numerous churches. The archdiocese runs two seminaries, the Major Seminary of Bogotá, which enrolls seminarians from the Archdiocese of Bogotá and other dioceses, and the Seminario Intermisional San Luis Beltrán, which trains priests for ministry in Colombia's missionary territories. It also contains several universities, dozens of secondary schools and primary schools. The archdiocese also runs a spiritual retreat house, a care center for physically and mentally disabled children, and a migrant charity foundation, among other ministries.

Structure

Territory

The Archdiocese of Bogotá covers a total area of 4,109 km2 (1,552 square miles). The archdiocese has a total population of 4.4 million, of whom 3.8 million (86%) are Catholic. Its territory includes 14 of the 20 localities (administrative districts) of the city of Bogotá and 11 municipalities in the Cundinamarca Department. The Cundinamarca municipalities are: La Calera, Cáqueza, Fómeque, Choachí, Une, Chipaque, Fosca, Quetame, Ubaque, Guayabetal, and Gutiérrez. The Archdiocese of Bogotá included the entire city of Bogotá until 2003, when the three new urban dioceses of Engativá, Fontibón, and Soacha were created. At the time of its establishment in 1564, the Archdiocese of Bogotá included much of what would become Colombia, as well as part of what is now western Venezuela. Beginning in the 1770s, the archdiocese gradually lessened in size as territory was split off to create new dioceses. Territory that was once part of the Archdiocese of Bogotá now comprises the Archdiocese of Mérida (in Venezuela), the Archdiocese of Antioquía, the Archdiocese of Nueva Pamplona, the Archdiocese of Tunja, the Archdiocese of Ibagué, the Diocese of Garzón, the Archdiocese of Villavicencio, and Bogotá's six suffragan sees: the Diocese of Zipaquirá, the Diocese of Girardot, the Diocese of Facatativá, the Diocese of Engativá, the Diocese of Fontibón, and the Diocese of Soacha.

Pastoral divisions

The Archdiocese of Bogotá is divided into eight vicariates, pastoral divisions covering a certain area that each contain a number of parishes and are each headed by an episcopal vicar. Each vicariate is subdivided into a number of arciprestazgos, or deaneries, which are each headed by an archpriest (dean). The vicariates are:

Personnel

The metropolitan archdiocese is led by its metropolitan archbishop, Luis José Rueda Aparicio. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Bogotá also holds the title Primate of Colombia. The archbishop is assisted by auxiliary bishops, the number of which has varied throughout history, from just one to as many as six. Currently, there are two auxiliary bishops, Luis Manuel Alí Herrera and Pedro Manuel Salamanca Mantilla. The archdiocese also has a chancellor, who heads the chancery, which is responsible for all archdiocesan records and publications. The current chancellor is Ricardo Alfonso Pulido Aguilar. Additionally, there are eight episcopal vicars who oversee a vicariate, or region, within the archdiocese. The archdiocese is served by approximately 740 priests, including more than 300 diocesan priests, and around 425 religious priests, or priests who are members of religious institutes. There are also 130 deacons, a number that has increased from just 20 in 2001. In addition, there are 1,450 religious sisters and nuns living and working in the archdiocese.

Ecclesiastical province

The Archdiocese of Bogotá is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bogotá, which, in addition to the archdiocese, includes the six suffragan dioceses of Engativá, Facatativá, Fontibón, Girardot, Soacha, and Zipaquirá. The Archbishop of Bogotá is the metropolitan archbishop of the ecclesiastical province, and as such, holds some authority over the suffragan bishops of the other dioceses.

Education

Seminaries

Universities

Secondary schools

Ordinaries

Archbishops of Santa Fe en Nueva Granada

Archbishops of Bogotá

Other affiliated bishops

Coadjutor archbishops

Auxiliary bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops