New in Puerto Rico

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, this morning erected the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao in Puerto Rico, with territory from the Archdiocese of San Juan and from the Diocese of Caguas, making it a suffragan see of the Metropolitan Church of San Juan.
The Holy Father has named as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao Father Eusebio Ramos Morales: a priest of the Diocese of Caguas, Pastor of Most Holy Redeemer parish in Fajardo and Moderator of Caguas’ Presbyteral Council.

The Bishop-elect was born in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, in 1952. He studied science and biology at the University of Puerto Rico, earning a Bachelors degree. Before entering the seminary, he taught at a school in Maunabo. He took courses in philosophy and theology at the Central University of Bayamón, with the Jesuits in Mexico, at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach (Florida) and at the Pontifical Gregorian University where he got his License in Theology.

He was ordained a priest June 3, 1983. He would serve as the Spiritual Director and then Rector of the Seminary in Caguas, Pastor at “Sweet Name of Jesus” parish, and Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Major Seminary.

The new diocese (Latin name: Faiardensis-Humacaensis) is 574 square kilometers in size and has a population of 293,000 (of which 97,869 are Catholic). It has 21 parishes, 17 diocesan priest, 5 priests from religious orders, 3 seminarians in the major seminary, 21 permanent deacons and 5 female religious. The parish church of Saint James the Apostle in the city of Fajardo will be the Cathedral of the new Diocesei. This brings the number of ecclesiastical jurisdictions in Puerto Rico to 6.