Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nueva Pamplona

History

On 25 September 1835, Pope Gregory XVI established the Diocese of Nueva Pamplona from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santafé en Nueva Granada. It was then a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bogotá. The first bishop, José Jorge Torres Estans, a native of Cartagena, ruled from 30 August 1837, to 17 April 1853, when he died at the age of 81, an exile in San Antonio del Fáchira, Venezuela. His successor, José Luis Niño, named vicar Apostolic, was consecrated in October, 1856, and also died an exile in San Antonio del Fáchira, 12 February 1864. The third bishop, Bonifacio Antonio Toscano, governed from 13 October 1865, to his retirement in 1873. He convoked the first diocesan synod, and assisted at the Provincial Council of New Granada in 1868 and at the First Vatican Council. Indalecio Barreto succeeded him 3 December 1874, and died 19 March 1875, at La Vega near Cúcuta. The Bishop of Panamá, Ignacio Antonio Parra, his successor, ruled from 8 June 1876, until his death, 21 February 1908. Bishop Parra had been exiled by the Liberal government from 1877 to 1878. Evaristo Blanco was transferred from the Diocese of Socorro, 15 August 1909. It was elevated to an archdiocese on 29 May 1956.

Bishops

Bishops of Nueva Pamplona

José Jorge de Torres y Estans † (21 Nov 1836 – 19 Apr 1853) Died

José Luis Niño † (27 May 1856 – 19 Apr 1864) Died

Bonifacio Antonio Toscano † (16 Dec 1864 – 18 Nov 1873) Resigned

Indalecio Barreto † (16 Jan 1874 – 20 Mar 1875) Died

Ignacio Antonio Parra † (17 Sep 1875 – 21 Feb 1908) Died

Evaristo Blanco † (27 Mar 1909 – 15 Sep 1915) Died

Rafael Afanador y Cadena † (5 Jun 1916 – 29 May 1956) Resigned

Archbishops of Nueva Pamplona

Bernardo Botero Álvarez, C.M. † (29 May 1956 – 28 Jun 1959) Died

Aníbal Muñoz Duque † (3 Aug 1959 – 27 Mar 1968) Appointed, Apostolic Administrator of Bogotá; future Cardinal

Alfredo Rubio Diaz † (27 Mar 1968 – 28 Feb 1978) Resigned

Mario Revollo Bravo † (28 Feb 1978 – 25 Jun 1984) Appointed, Archbishop of Bogotá; future Cardinal

Rafael Sarmiento Peralta † (12 Jan 1985 – 21 Jun 1994) Resigned

Víctor Manuel López Forero (21 Jun 1994 – 27 Jun 1998) Appointed, Archbishop of Bucaramanga

Gustavo Martínez Frías † (18 Mar 1999 – 29 Aug 2009) Died

Auxiliary bishops

José de Jesús Martinez Vargas † (1949-1951), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Bogotá

Jaime Cristóbal Abril González (2016-2019), appointed Bishop of Arauca

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Ramón Alberto Rolón Güepsa, appointed Bishop of Montería in 2012

Suffragan dioceses

Arauca

Cúcuta

Ocaña

Tibú