# Catholic Church in Venezuela

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Catholic_Church_in_Venezuela
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Catholic_Church_in_Venezuela.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Venezuela
> Source revision: 1332274760
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Part of a series on the Catholic Church by country Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Asia Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Kazakhstan Korea North Korea South Korea Kyrgyzstan Laos Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Middle East Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Cyprus Georgia Abkhazia Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Palestine Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen Europe Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Great Britain England and Wales Scotland Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine North America Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Oceania Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Catholic Church portal v t e

The **Catholic Church in Venezuela** is part of the worldwide [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church), under the spiritual leadership of the [Pope](/source/Pope) in [Rome](/source/Rome). The [Roman Catholic Church](/source/Roman_Catholic_Church) in [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela) comprises nine [archdioceses](/source/Diocese), three [vicariates](/source/Apostolic_vicariate), a [military ordinariate](/source/Military_ordinariate), and two Eastern Rite [exarchates](/source/Exarchate) under the spiritual leadership of the [Pope](/source/Pope), the [Curia](/source/Curia_(Catholic_Church)) in [Rome](/source/Rome) and the Venezuelan Bishops Conference. According to *[The World Factbook](/source/The_World_Factbook)*, 96% of the population was Roman Catholic in 2009.[1] In 2018, [Latinobarómetro](/source/Latinobar%C3%B3metro), estimated that 66% of the population is Roman Catholic.[2]

Since the [Second Vatican Council](/source/Second_Vatican_Council), the Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela has been weakened by a lack of diocesan and religious vocations. Many priests serving in Venezuela are foreign-born. Before President [Hugo Chávez](/source/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez)'s government took power, [Protestant](/source/Protestantism) churches began to successfully proselytize, especially among the urban poor; however, this diminished into the 21st century.[3] In the past, the Catholic Church did not have the funds, the personnel, or the enthusiasm to stem effectively this new challenge to its hegemony, but it believed it faced a greater threat with the new government of Chávez.

Although President Chávez self-identified as a practicing Roman Catholic, his policies troubled the Venezuelan Roman Catholic hierarchy, especially in the area of religious education. Besides its universities and colleges, the Roman Catholic Church also administers some 700 other schools throughout the country, mostly subsidized by the Venezuelan state. In 2007, Cardinal [Jorge Urosa](/source/Jorge_Urosa), the [Archbishop of Caracas](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Caracas), called for peaceful demonstrations against any direct government involvement in overseeing the Church's administration of schools. The Church also was critical of the government’s goal to remove religious education from public schools during normal school hours.[4][5]

## Theology

Map of dioceses of Venezuela

The Catholic Church in Venezuela heavily focuses on the veneration of the [Virgin Mary](/source/Virgin_Mary). This is exemplified by such figures as the [Our Lady of Coromoto](/source/Our_Lady_of_Coromoto) in [Portuguesa](/source/Portuguesa_(state)) state, [Virgen del Valle](/source/Virgen_del_Valle) in [Nueva Esparta](/source/Nueva_Esparta) and [Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá](/source/Our_Lady_of_the_Rosary_of_Chiquinquir%C3%A1) in the western part of the country.[6]

## History

The history of Roman Catholicism in Venezuela dates back to the colonial period. Historically, the church has never been as prominent in Venezuela as it has in neighboring [Colombia](/source/Colombia). In addition, that the Spanish clergy, in general, sided with their mother country rather than with the forces of independence, did not endear the church to the early Venezuelan patriots.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### Colonial period

In 1515 [Cumaná](/source/Cuman%C3%A1) was the first European settlement founded in [South America](/source/South_America) by [Franciscans](/source/Franciscan_Order) and [Dominicans](/source/Dominican_Order), but the monks there were being harassed by indigenous people and Spaniards operating slave raids from the nearby island of [Cubagua](/source/Cubagua). [Friars](/source/Friar) founded it with the name of Nueva Toledo,[7] due to successful attacks by the indigenous people, it had to be refounded several times. [Bartolomé de las Casas](/source/Bartolom%C3%A9_de_las_Casas), attempting a peaceful colonization scheme, was pre-empted by [Gonzalo de Ocampo](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gonzalo_de_Ocampo&action=edit&redlink=1)'s 1521 punitive raids against the local indigenous people, in retaliation for the destruction of the Dominican convent at [Chichiriviche](/source/Chichiriviche).

[Coro](/source/Coro%2C_Venezuela) is the oldest city in the west of Venezuela. It was founded on July 26, 1527, by [Juan de Ampíes](/source/Juan_de_Amp%C3%ADes) as Santa Ana de Coro. It has a wide cultural tradition that comes from being the urban settlement founded by the Spanish conquerors who colonized the interior of the continent. It was the first capital of the [Venezuela Province](/source/Venezuela_Province) and head of the first bishop founded in South America. It was established on June 21, 1531, by the bull *Pro Excellenti Praeeminentia* of the Pope [Clement VII](/source/Clement_VII). That diocese was suppressed on 20 June 1637 and its territory used to establish the [Diocese of Caracas](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Caracas) . Elevated to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Caracas by papal bull *In universalis ecclesiae regimine* issued by Pope Pius VII in the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome on November 24, 1803, until this date having been a suffragan in the Ecclesiastical Province of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola, now in the Dominican Republic and primatial see of the Americas.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### After the independence of Venezuela

Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the ranking clergy had close ties with the governing conservative oligarchy, and the church played a dominant role in the educational system. The rise to power of Liberals in the latter half of the nineteenth century, however, ushered in a period of anticlericalism. The government of [Antonio Guzmán Blanco](/source/Antonio_Guzm%C3%A1n_Blanco) virtually crushed the institutional life of the church, even attempting to legalize the marriage of priests. These anticlerical policies remained in force for decades afterward.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### 20th century

It was not until the mid-twentieth century that, under the influence of the Christian social movement that began to criticize the maldistribution of wealth, the church regained some of its former influence. Roman Catholic laymen played a prominent role in the founding of [Copei](/source/Copei) (Social Christian Party) in 1946, and the announced disapproval of the church contributed to the fall of the dictator [Marcos Pérez Jiménez](/source/Marcos_P%C3%A9rez_Jim%C3%A9nez) in 1958. In the 1960s, the involvement of the church in education and welfare increased and, although the church had no formal ties with COPEI, many believed that the support of clergymen and church-affiliated institutions contributed to the electoral successes of COPEI in 1968 and 1978.

### Present day

According to some sources, the church in Venezuela has been weakened by a traditional lack of native vocations. Many priests serving in Venezuela are foreign-born, although the inclusion of foreign clergy seems to be encouraged by many bishops throughout the Catholic world, especially in the United States. Before the government of [Hugo Chávez](/source/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez), charismatic Protestant churches began to proselyte successfully, especially among the urban poor, although this has not posed a threat to the church nearly as much as the new government of Chávez has, especially in relation to religious education in public schools and the running of the church's 700 religious schools. Chávez was very dismissive of the role of the Catholic Church's bishops in Venezuelan society.[6]

The Venezuelan Catholic Church has been vocal in opposing [Nicolás Maduro](/source/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro)'s administration.[8] [Pope Francis](/source/Pope_Francis) was vocally neutral during the [2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis](/source/2019_Venezuelan_presidential_crisis).[9] The [Episcopal Conference of Venezuela](/source/Episcopal_Conference_of_Venezuela) rejected [Luis Parra](/source/Luis_Parra)'s claim to the presidency of the [National Assembly](/source/National_Assembly_(Venezuela)) during a disrupted [Board of Directors internal election](/source/2020_Venezuelan_National_Assembly_Delegated_Committee_election) on 5 January 2020.[10] Days later, Luis Parra tried to attend a meeting of the organization alongside armed forces but he was denied entry.[11]

## See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Roman_Catholic_Church_in_Venezuela).

- [Religion in Venezuela](/source/Religion_in_Venezuela)

- [List of Catholic dioceses in Venezuela](/source/List_of_Catholic_dioceses_in_Venezuela)

- [Evangelical Council of Venezuela](/source/Evangelical_Council_of_Venezuela)

- [Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network](/source/Pan-Amazonian_Ecclesial_Network) (REPAM)

- [Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Venezuela](/source/Catholic_Church_sexual_abuse_cases_in_Venezuela)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Venezuela," *The World Factbook*, Central Intelligence Agency, 2009

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Venezuela"](http://www.latinobarometro.org/latCodebooks.jsp). *Latinobarómetro 2018_Resultados por Sexo y Edad* (in Spanish). Latinobarómetro. 2018. p. 44.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Cleary, Edward L. (April 1, 2004). "Shopping Around: Questions about Latin American Conversions". *International Bulletin of Mission Research*. **28** (2): 50–54. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/239693930402800201](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F239693930402800201). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [148581255](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:148581255).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Harding, Colin (January 6, 2007). ["Chávez attack on religious education resisted"](https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/68349/page/33?term=Ch%C3%A1vez+attack+on+religious+education+resisted). *The Tablet*. Vol. 33. Retrieved December 10, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Harding, Colin (May 6, 2006). ["Accusations fly as priest is found dead"](https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/68315/page/31?term=priest+is+found+dead). *The Tablet*. Vol. 31. Retrieved December 10, 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_6-1) Hirst, Joel D. (April 13, 2017). ["In Venezuela, the Catholic Church endures among a revolution's ruins"](https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/04/19/venezuela-catholic-church-endures-among-revolutions-ruins). *America Magazine*. Retrieved December 10, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Floyd_7-0)** Floyd, Troy (1973). *The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean, 1492-1526*. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 204–210.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Hernández, Arelis R. (April 13, 2019). ["Short of electricity, food and water, Venezuelans return to religion"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/short-of-electricity-food-and-water-venezuelans-return-to-religion/2019/04/12/aa32c36a-594c-11e9-98d4-844088d135f2_story.html?). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved December 9, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Vatican calls for end to suffering in Venezuela but takes no sides"](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-vatican-idUSKCN1PI2QM). *Reuters*. January 24, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Flynn, J.D. (January 9, 2020). ["Venezuelan bishops denounce contested election of legislative speaker"](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43246/venezuelan-bishops-denounce-contested-election-of-legislative-speaker). *Catholic News Agency*. Retrieved January 12, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Luis Parra trató de reunirse con obispos de la Conferencia Episcopal Venezolana"](https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/luis-parra-trato-de-reunirse-con-obispos-de-la-conferencia-episcopal-venezolana/). *El Nacional* (in Spanish). January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.

- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain). "Venezuela". [*Country Studies*](http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/vetoc.html). [Federal Research Division](/source/Federal_Research_Division).

v t e Catholic Church in South America Sovereign states Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies and other territories Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Catholic Church in Venezuela](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Venezuela) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Venezuela?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.