Roman Catholic Diocese of Imperatriz

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Imperatriz (Dioecesis Imperatricis) is a suffragan Latin diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of São Luís do Maranhão in northeastern Brazil.

Its cathedral episcopal see is Catedral Nossa Senhora da Fátima, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, in the city of Imperatriz, Maranhão state.

History

 * Established on 27 June 1987 as Diocese of Imperatriz, on territory split off from the Diocese of Carolina.

Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 414,000 Catholics (79.9% of 518,000 total) on 25,958 km2 in 27 parishes and 2 missions with 43 priests (29 diocesan, 14 religious), 1 deacon, 65 lay religious (19 brothers, 46 sisters) and 7 seminarians.

Bishops
(all Roman rite)

Episcopal ordinaries

 * Suffragan Bishops of Imperatriz
 * Affonso Felippe Gregory (1987.07.16 – retired 2005.08.03), also President of Caritas Internationalis (1991 – 1999); died 2008; previously Titular Bishop of Drusiliana (1979.08.02 – 1987.07.16) as Auxiliary Bishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (1979.08.02 – 1987.07.16)
 * Gilberto Pastana de Oliveira (2005.08.03 – 2017.04.19), also Coadjutor Bishop of Crato (Brazil) (2016.05.18 – 2016.12.28), succeeding as Bishop of Crato (2016.12.28 – ...)
 * Vilson Basso, Dehonians (S.C.I.) (2017.04.19 – ...), previously Bishop of Caxias do Maranhão (Brazil) (2010.03.19 – 2017.04.19).

Other priest of this diocese who became bishops

 * Francisco Lima Soares, appointed Bishop of Carolina, Maranhão in 2018

Sources and external links

 * GCatholic.org - data for all sections
 * Catholic Hierarchy