The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and consists of the southern part of the island of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States. The diocese is led by a prelate bishop who pastors the mother church in the City of Ponce, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Its current bishop is S.E.R. Mons. Rubén Antonio González Medina, C.M.F. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Guánica, Guayanilla, Yauco, Peñuelas, Ponce, Juana Díaz, Villalba, Coamo, Santa Isabel, Salinas, Guayama, Arroyo, and Patillas. History In 1978, Bishop Fremiot Torres Oliver acquired a large property in the Rio Chiquito sector of Barrio Portugués where the Diocese is currently (2019) located. Spanish colonial system Under the Spanish colonial system (1692–1898) the Diocese of Ponce operated and its bishop in 1877 was Juan Puig. From 25 October 1892 to 1897, the bishop was Lorenzo Roura y Bayer. Other Padres Paules bishops at the Cathedral were: Lorenzo Roura y Bayer (25 October 1892 – 1897) Leonardo G. Villanueva (1897–1898) Sturnino Janices (1997–1898) Francisco Vicario (1898–1905) Luis Vega (1905–1911) Cipariano Peña (1911–1919) Florencio Garcia (1919–1927) Manuel Peña (1927–1931) Gonzalo de la Guerra (1931–1937) Deogracias Morondo (1937–1940) Toribio Marijuan (1940–1945) Mariano Bravo (1945–1948) Epifanio Garcia (1948–1957) Jose Carrasco (1957) From 1970 on, Padres Paules left Ponce and the Cathedral was then run by the Diocese of Ponce directly. American colonial system The See of Ponce was canonically erected on 21 November 1924, and is a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Province of San Juan de Puerto Rico. San Juan Archdiocese bankruptcy On 7 September 2018, Judge Edward Godoy ruled that the bankruptcy filed by the Archdiocese of San Juan would also apply to every Catholic diocese in Puerto Rico, including Ponce, and that all would now have their assets protected under Chapter 11. Bishops of Ponce The list of the bishops of Ponce and their terms of service. These are only the ecclesiastical bishops; emeritus bishops are not included here: Edwin Byrne (1925–1929), appointed Bishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico Aloysius Joseph Willinger (1929–1946), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Fresno James Edward McManus (1947–1963), resigned Luis Aponte Martinez (1963–1964), appointed Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver (1964–2000), retired Ricardo Antonio Suriñach Carreras (2000–2003), retired Félix Lázaro Martínez (2003–2015), retired Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina, C.M.F.