Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Porto Alegre

History

• It was erected as the Diocese of São Pedro do Rio Grande by Pope Pius IX on 7 May 1848, on territory split off from the Diocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.
• It was elevated by Pope Pius X on 15 August 1910 to the rank of a Metropolitan archdiocese/ Portalegren in Brasilia, having lost territories to establish Diocese of Pelotas, Diocese of Santa Maria and Diocese of Uruguaiana.
• Lost territories on 1934.09.08 to establish the Diocese of Caxias and Territorial Prelature of Vacaria
• 1957.01.18: Gained territory back from above Territorial Prelature of Vacaria
• Lost territories repeatedly : on 1959.06.20 to establish Diocese of Santa Cruz do Sul, on 1959.08.15 to above Diocese of Caxias, on 1971.02.01 to above Diocese of Caxias do Sul, on 1980.02.02 to establish the Diocese of Novo Hamburgo, as its suffragan, on 1999.11.10 to establish the Diocese of Osorio, as its suffragan, and on 2008.07.02: to establish the Diocese of Montenegro, as its suffragan
• It enjoyed a Papal visit from Pope John Paul II in July 1980.

  Statistics

Ecclesiastical province

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Caxias do Sul
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Montenegro, its daughter
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Hamburgo, its daughter
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Osório, its daughter

  Bishops

Episcopal ordinaries, and current auxiliary bishops

• Feliciano Rodrigues de Araujo Prates
• Sebastião Dias Laranjeira
• Cláudio Gonçalves Ponce de Leon, Lazarists , previously Bishop of Goiás
• * Coadjutor Bishop: João Antônio Pimenta, Titular Bishop of Pentacomia ; next Bishop of Montes Claros

• Cláudio Gonçalves Ponce de Leon, Lazarists , emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Anazarbus
• João Becker, previously Bishop of Santa Catarina
• Alfredo Scherer, Cardinal in 1969; previously Titular Bishop of Hemeria as Auxiliary Bishop of Porto Alegre
• João Colling, died 1992; previously Titular Bishop of Corone as Auxiliary Bishop of Santa Maria , Bishop of Passo Fundo
• Altamiro Rossato, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ); died 13 May 2014; previously Bishop of Marabá , Coadjutor Archbishop of Porto Alegre
• Dadeus Grings ; previously Bishop of São João da Boa Vista , Coadjutor Archbishop of Porto Alegre
• Jaime Spengler, previously Titular Bishop of Patara as Auxiliary Bishop of Porto Alegre
• * Auxiliary Bishop Leomar Antônio Brustolin, Titular Bishop of Tigava
• * Auxiliary Bishop Aparecido Donizete de Souza,Titular Bishop of Macriana minor
• * Auxiliary Bishop Adilson Pedro Busin, C.S., Titular Bishop of Guardialfiera
• * Auxiliary Bishop Darley José Kummer, Titular Bishop of Elvas

  Coadjutor bishops

• João Antônio Pimenta, did not succeed to see; appointed Bishop of Montes Claros
• Altamiro Rossato, C.SS.R.
• Dadeus Grings

  Previous auxiliary episcopate, in reverse chronological order

• * Auxiliary Bishop: Agenor Girardi, M.S.C., appointed Bishop of União da Vitória, Parana
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Remídio José Bohn, appointed Bishop of Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop::Jaime Spengler, O.F.M., appointed Archbishop here
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Alessandro Carmelo Ruffinoni, C.S., appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Jacinto Inácio Flach, appointed Bishop of Criciúma, Santa Catarina
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Eduardo Benes de Sales Rodrigues, appointed Bishop of Lorena, Sao Paulo; future Archbishop
• * Auxiliary Bishop: José Clemente Weber, appointed Bishop of Santo Ângelo, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Osvino José Both, appointed Bishop of Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul; future Archbishop
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Thadeu Gomes Canellas, appointed Bishop of Osório, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop: José Mário Stroeher, appointed Bishop of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Urbano José Allgayer, appointed Bishop of Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Antônio do Carmo Cheuiche, O.C.D.
• * Auxiliary Bishop: José Ivo Lorscheiter, appointed Bishop of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Edmundo Luís Kunz
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Alfredo Vicente Scherer, appointed Archbishop here

  Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Luiz Felipe de Nadal, appointed Bishop of Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul in 1955
• Zeno Hastenteufel, appointed Bishop of Frederico Westphalen, Rio Grande do Sul in 2001
• Jacinto Bergmann, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul in 2002
• Liro Vendelino Meurer, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Passo Fundo in 2009
• Rodolfo Luís Weber, appointed Prelate of Cristalândia in 2009
• Silvio Guterres Dutra, appointed Bishop of Vacaria, Rio Grande do Sul in 2018