Mexico Church History

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Mexico

Church History

Research procedures and genealogical sources are different for each religion. It is helpful to understand the historical events that led to the creation of records, such as parish registers, in which your family was listed.

Roman Catholic

In 1527 the Roman Catholic Church was established in Mexico when the dioceses of Tlaxcala and Mexico were created. The Archdiocese of México was created first as a diocese in 1530 and upgraded to an archdiocese in 1546. During the viceroyalty period in Mexico (1527 to 1810), there were also nine other dioceses in the country.

Chronological History of the Catholic Church in Mexico

Year	Ecclesiastical and Political Events - Affecting the Church
1518	First Catholic Mass on Mexican soil on the expedition of Juan de Grijalva. Diocese of Carolense created.
1522	First Inquisition tried in Mexico.
1524	First 12 Franciscans arrive in Mexico.
1526	First Dominicans arrive in Mexico. Diocese of Mexico created.
1533	First Augustines arrive.
1535	Diocese of Oaxaca created.
1536	Diocese of Michoacan created.
1539	Diocese of Chiapas, also known as San Cristobal de las Casas, created.
1546	Ecclesiastical Province of Mexico (archdiocese) created.
1548	Diocese of Guadalajara created.
1561	Diocese of Yucatan created.
1572	First Jesuits arrive in Mexico.
1592	Missions of Northern Mexico begin.
1620	Diocese of Guadiana, or Durango, created.
1642	Problems arise between Bishop Palafox and the Jesuits.
1767	Jesuits expelled from Mexico.
1777	Diocese of Linares, later named Monterrey, created.
1779	Diocese of Sonora created.
1792	Royal and Pontifical University of Guadalajara established.
1814	Jesuits restituted.
1821	Consummation of Independence.
1824	Constitution adopted.
1845	Diocese of Campeche created.
1854	Diocese of San Luis Potosí created.
1855	Apostolic Vicarate of Baja California created.
1857	Constitution of 1857 and Reform Laws adopted.
1856–1861	Church and its seminaries confiscated by government.
1861	Vicariate of Tamaulipas created.
1862	Dioceses of Queretaro and Chilapa created.
1863	Archdioceses of Guadalajara and Michoacan (now known as Morelia) created.
1863	Dioceses of Veracruz, also known as Jalapa, Zamora, Leon, Zacatecas, Queretaro, and Tulancingo, created.
1867–1868	More seminaries confiscated or closed.
1870	Diocese of Tampico and Tamaulipas (known as Ciudad Victoria) created.
1874	Diocese of Lower California (now known as La Paz) created.
1880	Diocese of Tabasco created.
1881	Diocese of Colima created.
1881, 1887	Seminary of Tampico closed.
1883	Diocese of Sinaloa (name changed to Culiacan in 1959) created.
1887	Puebla seminary buildings confiscated.
1891	Archdioceses of Oaxaca, Durango, and Linares (now known as Monterrey) created.
1891	Dioceses of Cuernavaca, Chihuahua, Saltillo, San Andres Tuxtla (Tehuantepec), and Tepic created.
1898	Archdiocese of Monterrey (formerly known as Linares) created.
1899	Diocese of Aguascaliente created.
1903	Diocese of Huajuapan de Leon created.
1903	Archdiocese of Puebla created.
1906	Archdiocese of Yucatan created.
1910	Mexican Revolution.
1913	Diocese of Tacambaro created.
1913–1917	More church buildings confiscated.
1922	Huejutla and Papantla created.
1925–1928	More church buildings confiscated and closed.
1929	Peaceful religious agreements.
1932–1935	More church buildings confiscated.
1937	Culiacan seminary confiscated and Zacatecas seminary supressed.
1950	Diocese of Toluca created.
1951	Archdiocese of Jalapa created.
1953	Archdiocese of Chihuahua created.
1957	Dioceses of Ciudad Juarez, Tapachula, and Torreón created.
1958	Dioceses of Acapulco, La Paz, Matamoros, and Mazatlan created.
1959	Archdiocese of Hermosillo, and dioceses of Ciudad Obregón and Tlaxcala created. Diocese of San Andres Tuxtla was divided, creating the diocese of Tehuantepec. Diocese of Sinaloa becomes known as Culiacan.
1960	Dioceses of Ciudad Valles and Texcoco created.
1961	Dioceses of Autlan and Tula created.
1962	Dioceses of Apatzingan, Linares, Tehuacan, Tuxpan, and Veracruz created.
1963	Diocese of Tijuana created.
1964	Dioseses of Ciudad Altamirano, Ciudad Victoria, Tlalnepantla, and Tuxtla Gutierrez created.
1965	Diocese of Mexicali created.
1972	Dioceses of Ciudad Guzman and San Juan de los Lagos created.
1973	Diocese of Celaya created.
1979	Dioceses of Cuautitlan, Netzahualcoyotl, and Tuxtepec created.
1981	Archdiocese of Oaxaca created.
1983	Archdiocese of Acapulco created.
1984	Dioceses of Atlacomulco and Coatzacoalcos created. Diocese of San Andres Tuxtla divided into two jurisdictions: San Andres Tuxtla and the new diocese Coatzacoalcos, becomes a suffragan diocese of Jalapa.
1985	Diocese of Ciudad Lazaro Cardenas created.
1988	Diocese of La Paz created. Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí created.
1989	Archdiocese of Tlalnepantla created.
1990	Diocese of Nuevo Laredo created.
1992	Dioceses of Tlapa and Parral created.

Laws Affecting Church History in Mexico

During the viceroyalty period and until the constitution of 1824 the king, under the Regio Patronato, obtained concessions to:

• Send missionaries to evangelize the Indians.
• Construct churches, monasteries, and hospitals.
• Present three names of persons to the Holy Office of Rome to name the church officials of Mexico.
• Collect tithes.
• With time the king also gained the right to abrogate the decrees of the Ecclesiastical Courts and to modify, by civil power, and transmit or not transmit the papal and church documents to his realms.

The 1824 constitution allowed freedom of choice and liberty of thought. However it was not until the Reform Laws that the government began to enforce these rights.

The Reform Laws contained sections dealing with the establishment of civil registration, the nationalization of church property, separation of church and state, suppression of religious orders, prohibition to establish convents, brotherhoods, and so on. Pensions were provided for religious clergy who accepted the laws. Among other things, the laws established:

• Marriage as a civil contract.
• Tolerance of belief.
• Secularization of cemeteries.
• Denial of church authority to charge for baptisms, marriages, burials, and other sacraments.

More Information on Catholic Church History in Mexico

For more information on Catholic Church history in Mexico, consult the following books:

• Cuevas, Mariano. Historia de la Iglesia en México [History of the Church in Mexico]. México: Editorial Patri, 1946. 5 vols. (FHL book 972 K2c.)
• Gutiérrez Casillas, José. Historia de la Iglesia en México [History of the Church in Mexico]. México: Editorial Porrua, S.A., 1984. (FHL book 972 K2g.)
• Iglesia Católica. Arquidiócesis de México (México). Directorio Eclesiástico de toda la República Mexicana [Ecclesiastical Directory of the Entire Republic of Mexico]. México, D.F.: La Arquidiócesis, 1991. (FHL book 972 K24i.)

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