¿WHO ARE WE?
What better answer to this question than the one that appears in the
numeral 369 of the Code of Canonical Law: 

The diocese is a part of the people of God, the pastoral caring of which is entrusted to the Bishop with the cooperation of the presbytery, in such a way that, united to its shepherd and assembled by him in the Holy Spirit by means of the Gospel and the Eucharist, it constitutes a specific Church, in which the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and acts. 

OUR HISTORY

The territory of the Archdiocese of Barranquilla belonged since 1534, by decree of the Pope Clement VII, to the Diocese of Cartagena de Indias.

This is July 7th, 1932 where the Vatican created the Diocese of Barranquilla and declared the San Nicolás de Tolentino Parish, a “Pro-Cathedral” church. In the following year, the Pope Pío XI appoints the priest from Huila Luis Calixto Leyva Charry as the first Bishop of the growing  Diocese.

In 1950, the first stone for the new Cathedral was blessed and in 1968, still being built, it is declared a Parish under the appellation of  “María Reina”.

The growing importance of Barranquilla as an industrial and commercial city of the Atlantic Coast, as well as its vertiginous cultural and religious growth, motivated its raising to becoming a “metropolitan home” for a new  Ecclesiastical Province, separated, partially, from the  Province of Cartagena and with the auxilliary dioceses of Santa Marta and Valledupar. Today, the dioceses of Riohacha and El Banco add up to this Province.

On April 25th 1969, Pope Paul VI promotes the episcopal headquarters of Barranquilla to the honor of “metropolitan” and appoints Monsignor Germán Villa Gaviria as its first Archbishop.

On July 7th, 1982, the temple of San Nicolás, patron of the city, celebrates its fiftieth anniversary as Pro-Cathedral church of Barranquilla; and on July 20th of the same year, the Vatican decrees the change of cathedral title towards the “María Reina” temple, and this temple was consecrated as the new Cathedral of Barranquilla on August 21st, 1982.

Currently, the Archdiocese of Barranquilla is under the guardianship of Monsignor Rubén Salazar Gómez, with the accompaniment of two Assistant Bishops: Monsignor Luis Antonio Nova Rocha and Monsignor Víctor Tamayo Betancourt. Also participates in the pastoral work, as well as a Presbytery made up of more than 100 diocesan and religious priests, who shepherd dynamic parishioners that are committed to building a society that is fairer, more solidary and peaceful.  

If you wish to support the construction of new temples in the poorest neighborhoods of Barranquilla and towns of the Atlántico, or if you prefer to make economic contributions to the different social works that we are carrying out in favor of the poorest people, please contact us and we will inform you about the required procedures. 

 

Territorially, the Archdiocese of Barranquilla corresponds to the Department of the Atlántico which is part of the Caribbean region in the northern part of Colombia. As a political-administrative unit, Atlántico has an area of 3388 squared kilometers; it limits on the north with the Caribbean Sea, on the east with the Magdalena River, on the west with the Bolívar Department and on the south with the Dique Channel, which separates it from the Bolívar Department.

The capital of the Department of the Atlántico is Barranquilla, the name of which the Archdiocese assumes. The capital is a special, industrial and port district of approximately one and a half million inhabitants. Atlántico is made up of 22 municipalities. With those towns included it reaches a population of almost three million people.

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An economic activity supported by commerce, industry and service, as well as by its strategic geographical position, make the Department of the Atlántico  a great national and international marketing platform.

The cultural heritage makes the region richer. Annually, during the four days before Ash Wednesday, the Barranquilla Carnival is celebrated. It was recently declared by the UNESCO “Master Work of Oral and “Immaterial” Patrimony of Humanity”.

Likewise, important art starts who have given international recognition to our country were born in this territory, such as Shakira.
But Atlántico does not escape the contrasts that make strong impressions that Latin America has to offer, where the natural riches and the social privileges seem to favor only a minority, whereas a large part of the population is too poor and others, with great difficulties, achieve a worthy life.

In this “reality of contrasts” the Archdiocese of Barranquilla communicates the Gospel, and we are doing it in

130 parishes with one Archbishop,

two Assistant Bishops,

130 priests,

13 masculine religious communities,

33 feminine religious communities,

21 ecclesiastical movements and a large number of committed laymen and laywoman.

ROAD TRAVELLED AT THE DIOCESAN PROCESS OF RENEWAL AND EVANGELIZATION (PDR/E)

The current Archbishop, Monsignor Rubén Salazar Gómez, took hold of his office on May 15th, 1999. Immediately it became evident in the entire presbytery that there was a desire to unify pastoral criteria and actions in a Global Archdiocesan Plan. It was decided that the most appropriate way to celebrate the Jubilee of the Year 2000, for which the Archdiocese had been preparing itself with special care  was by means of the celebration of an ARCHDIOCESAN MISSION – concretion of the Global Plan- a harvesting of the previous evangelizing work and sowing of a new evangelization process.  

Starting Point

In October 1999, in a general meeting of the Presbytery, a starting point was drawn up for putting into operation the ARCHDIOCESAN MISSION, adopting the fundamental features of the Diocesan Process of Renewal and Evangelization Process (PDR/E). In this way we started the PRIOR STAGE of this process.

Prior Stage

»On December 26th, 1999, with a massive gathering at the Metropolitan Stadium of Barranquilla, the celebration of the Jubilee of the Year 2000 was formally inaugurated and the ARCHDIOCESAN MISSION was started.

 

»In January 2000, a restructuring of the parishes was carried out as well as a redistribution of the presbytery with the creation of 110 pastoral units made up of pastoral cells (already constituted parishes or parishes that were being developed). These pastoral units were grouped into deanships and the deanships, in turn, were grouped into territorial vicarships. Before this there existed 70 parishes in the Archdiocese.

»During the entire year 2000 the pastoral encouragement teams were organized in the units and cells (euap and ecap), and the parish sectors were created with their teams (ecos and messengers network). 

»In October 2000, again the Metropolitan Stadium opened its doors to the Church. This time in order to officially inaugurate the ARCHDIOCESAN MISSION with a large gathering of devotees.

»Beginning at that time and well into the year 2001, there happened the MISSION AT THE FAMILY ASSEMBLIES –that enabled the organizing of nucleuses with their respective encouragers-, the MISSION IN THE SECTORS, in the CELLS, in the PASTORAL UNITS and at the archdiocesan level. In this way the pastoral community foundations of the Archdiocese were placed, thanks to the creation of the fundamental structures.

»In the second semester of 2001 and in the beginnings of 2002, the MISSION IN SPECIFIC GROUPS was carried out (children, youngsters, elderly persons, teachers...). In this way we started the first specialized pastoral fronts. 

»While all this was happening, the pastoral agents and the community in general started to strengthen themselves in the spirituality of communion.  

First Stage

»On May 18th, 2002, the First Archdiocesan Assembly, was carried out, presided over by the Archbishop and in which the following participated: the presbytery, religious and secular delegates of all the pastoral units, as well as representatives of the archdiocesan commissions that existed until that time and the ecclesiastical movements. At this assembly, after evaluating the road travelled in the Archdiocesan Mission that was started in 1999, we decided to continue with the process started of a new evangelization, in other words, with the PDR/E.

»On July 7th, 2002, when the Archdiocese celebrated the 70 years of its creation, we started the FIRST STAGE of the global archdiocesan plan of new evangelization. 

»Of this FIRST STAGE, included from 2002 to 2011, we have travelled a FIRST PHASE of 3 years (2002-2005) which was a general summoning to RECONCILIATION. For a deeper reflection and one that really enables making the reconciliation value part of life, we worked on it from the point of view of the need to improve (July 2002-June 2003), to improve our communications (July 2003-June 2004) and to improve relations our living-together (July 2004-November 2005).

»Currently, we are in the SECOND PHASE (2005 – 2008) and we are working on the FRATERNITY value, understood from the point of view of respect (year 2006), justice (2007) and the solidarity (2008).

»In a special way this year 2007, year of justice, is within the framework of the Archdiocesan Jubilee Year.

• The THIRD PHASE is programmed from 2008 to 2011, and it will be the COMMUNION phase.