{{short description|none}} {{Catholic Church by country}} [[File:Mapa Diocesis de Colombia.svg|thumb|300px|Church provinces and diocese in Colombia]]

The '''Colombian Catholic Church''', or '''Catholic Church in Colombia''', is the branch of the [[Catholic Church]] in the [[South America]]n nation of [[Colombia]].

== Organization == It is organized into 13 ecclesiastical provinces, subdivided into 13 archdioceses and 52 dioceses, and a [[Maronite]] [[Maronite Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Colombia|apostolic exarchate]]. Over 120 religious orders, institutes, and lay organizations run hundreds of primary and secondary schools, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, colleges, and 8 universities across the country. The best known are [[Pontificia Universidad Javeriana]] (in [[Bogotá]]) and [[Pontificia Universidad Javeriana]] (in [[Cali]]), both [[Jesuit]] universities.<ref>Annuario Pontificio, 2009.</ref>

Based on studies and a survey, about 90% of the Colombian population adheres to [[Christianity]], the majority of which (70.9%) are [[Catholic]], while 16.7% adhere to [[Protestantism]] (primarily [[Evangelicalism]]) or other Christian groups.<ref name="Religion">{{cite book|url = http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/10780/1/Del%20monopolio%20cat%C3%B3lico%20a%20la%20explosi%C3%B3n%20pentecostal.pdf|title = Del monopolio católico a la explosión pentecostal'|author = Beltrán Cely, William Mauricio| year=2013 |publisher = Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Centro de Estudios Sociales (CES), Maestría en Sociología|language = es|isbn = 978-958-761-465-7|access-date = 2016-05-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160327173229/http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/10780/1/Del%20monopolio%20cat%C3%B3lico%20a%20la%20explosi%C3%B3n%20pentecostal.pdf|archive-date = 2016-03-27|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="Religion2">{{cite web|url= http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/8486/1/williammauriciobeltran.2011.pdf|title= Descripción cuantitativa de la pluralización religiosa en Colombia|author= Beltrán Cely, William Mauricio|author-link= William Mauricio Beltrán Cely|publisher= Universitas humanística 73 (2012): 201–238. – bdigital.unal.edu.co|access-date= 2016-05-18|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140329185722/http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/8486/1/williammauriciobeltran.2011.pdf|archive-date= 2014-03-29|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name="Religion in Latin America">{{cite web|title= Religion in Latin America, Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region|url= http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/#|website= pewforum.org|publisher= Pew Research Center|date = November 13, 2014}}</ref><ref name=US2022>[https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/colombia US State Dept 2022 report]</ref>

In 2020, almost 10,000 priests and over 12,000 nuns served over 4,500 parishes.<ref>[https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/colombia Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08]</ref>

==History== Catholicism was introduced to the country in 1508. Two dioceses were organized in 1534. The Church grew significantly by the mid-17th century, in spite of the variety of [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|indigenous languages]], [[government interference]] and competition among [[religious orders]]. Some [[persecution]] followed the [[Colombian Declaration of Independence|declaration of independence]] in 1819.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}

Throughout Latin America, the Church was subject to Spain and served its purposes throughout the colonial period and part of the nineteenth century. It was responsible for founding and directing schools for educating native elites ([[Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé|San Bartolomé]], [[Del Rosario University|Universidad del Rosario]], and the [[Saint Thomas Aquinas University|Universidad Santo Tomás]]), creating and sustaining hospitals, help from the colonial bureaucracy and generally, as an instrument of control and social cohesion.

In the late eighteenth century, the [[Bourbon Reforms|Bourbon reforms]] began to break down this scheme, especially with respect to education. For the first time the usefulness of the scholastic system used until then was questioned, and changes were sought.

At Independence, the clergy split between those who supported the king (royalists) and those who preferred absolute independence (nationalists). The high clergy (bishops and dignitaries) supported the former, while parish priests and many of the religious, supported the latter. The role played by the clergy in Independence was decisive, because it contributed to the mobilization and recruitment of fighters; they served as chaplains and military leaders.

With the 1991 Constitution of Colombia, the Colombian State became no longer Catholic. Equality and religious freedom were recognized.

On June 22, 2012, media in Colombia published the report titled "The Pope is concerned about the penetration of [[Pentecostals]] in Colombia" where religious pluralism merited serious consideration. The increasingly active presence of Pentecostal and Evangelical communities in many parts of Latin America were evident.

On October 31, 2012, Bishop Juan Vicente Córdoba, Secretary General of the Colombian Episcopal Conference, announced that the Catholic Church would seek parishioners in shopping centers, placing parishes in these commercial establishments. 4

[[Mariano de Jesus Euse Hoyos]] (the "father Marianito") and 7 religious of San Juan de Dios were beatified in 2000,<ref name=EWTN>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/bios2000.htm|title=Biographies of New Blesseds - 2000|date=|publisher=EWTN|accessdate=18 July 2016}}</ref> while Mother Laura Montoya, founder of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St. Catherine of Siena ("Lauritas"), was canonized.

In November 2023, a book by Colombian journalists Juan Pablo Barrientos and Miguel Ángel Estupiñán which detailed an investigation into sex abuse claims against the Catholic Church in Colombia, titled ''El archivio secreto'', was published which named at least 569 Catholic clergy in Colombia who were accused of committing acts of sex abuse.<ref name=sexabusereports>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/colombian-bishop-resigns-sexual-abuse-catholic-church-1fa50b1b60792405f01eac23663b0f94|first=Manuel|last=Rueda|title=Pope Francis accepts the resignation of a Colombian bishop mentioned in a book on sexual abuse |work=Associated Press News|date=July 20, 2024|accessdate=July 20, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9RLmEAAAQBAJ|title=El archivio secreto|first1=Juan Pablo|last1=Barrientos|first2=Miguel Ángel|last2=Estupiñán|publisher=Planeta Colombia|date=November 27, 2023|isbn=978-628-7665-47-7 |accessdate=July 20, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.religiondigital.org/miguel_estupinan-_corresponsal_en_colombia/Iglesia-colombiana-pronuncia-denuncias-encubrimiento_7_2652704713.html|first=Miguel|last=Estupiñán|title=La Iglesia colombiana se pronuncia sobre las denuncias por encubrimiento de abusos sexuales |publisher=Religion Digital|date=March 18, 2024|accessdate=July 20, 2024}}</ref> In July 2024, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of accused Colombian Bishop Óscar Augusto Múnera Ocha, who was first accused of committing acts of sex abuse in May 2024, as [[Apostolic Vicariate of Tierradentro|apostolic vicar of Tierradento]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/07/20/240720a.html|title=Resignations and Appointments, 20.07.2024|publisher=Holy See Press Office|date=20 July 2024|accessdate=20 July 2024}}</ref><ref name=sexabusereports />

== Influence == Catholicism wielded a strong influence on public opinion and government affairs. The Church influences various fields and institutions, including:

* Military and Police -The Bishopric of Colombia Castrense serves exclusively as staff diocese to active and retired staff and family members of the Colombian Armed Forces and the National Police. * The Apostolic Nunciature - the embassy of the [[Holy See]] in the country. * The faithful - representing about 90% of the population. * Churches - land acquisition and construction * The Concordat with the Holy See came into force in 1886; the Constitutional Court enforced some of its provisions in 1993. The Colombian Bishops' Conference spoke against it two weeks later.

==See also== *[[Christianity in Colombia]] *[[Religion in Colombia]] *[[List of Catholic dioceses in Colombia]] *[[List of South American saints]] *[[Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network]] (REPAM)

==Notes== {{reflist}}

{{Portal bar|Catholicism|Colombia}} {{South America in topic|Catholic Church in|groupstyle=background-color:gold|titlestyle=background-color:gold}}

[[Category:Catholic Church in Colombia| ]] [[Category:Catholic Church by country|Colombia]] [[Category:1508 establishments in the Spanish Empire]]