Pope splits up massive archdiocese in Dominican Republic
August 28, 2025
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Leo XIV has split up the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, a massive diocese in the Dominican Republic with 3.48 million Catholics—more than the Archdiocese of New York (3.26 million) or the Archdiocese of Chicago (2.08 million).
On August 27, Pope Leo established the Diocese of Stella Maris, Dominican Republic, carving it from the territory of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo. The new diocese has 944,000 Catholics, 64 parishes, and 95 priests; the Santo Domingo archdiocese, following the loss of territory to the new diocese, now has 2.54 million Catholics, 156 parishes, and 316 priests.
It is the second such action taken by Pope Leo XIV; in July, he established a new diocese in Kenya.
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