The Holy Father Francis has erected the territorial prelature of Apóstol de Huancané, Peru, with territory taken from the territorial prelatures of Ayaviri and Juli, making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Arequipa. The Vatican announced the new prelature April 3, 2019.
The Pope has appointed as first bishop prelate of the territorial prelature of Apóstol de Huancané, Peru, the Rev. Fr. Giovanni Cefai, M.S.S.P., pastor of the parish of San Pablo Apóstol in the Archdiocese of Arequipa, and regional superior of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul in Peru.
The bishop-elect was born on August 5, 1967, in Zebbug, diocese of Gozo, Malta, gave his solemn vows in 1994 and was ordained a priest in 1997. He holds a licentiate in pastoral theology from the University of Malta. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including director of the De Piro youth center in Malta and parish priest of Santa Cruz and currently San Pablo Apóstol in Arequipa, Peru. He is also regional superior of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul in Peru.
The territory of the new territorial prelature of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané is composed of the following 22 districts:
– Conima, Huayrapata, Moho, and Tilali (which form part of the civil province of Moho);
– Alto Inambari, Cuyocuyo, Patambuco, Quiaca, San Juan del Oro, San Pedro de Putinapunco, Sandia and Yanahuaya (which form part of the civil province of Sandia);
– Ananea, Quilcapuncy and Sina ((which form part of the civil province of San Antonio de Putina);
– Huancané, Cojata, Inchupalla, Pusi, Rosaspata, Vilque Chico and Taraco ((which form part of the civil province of Huancané).
The cathedral of the new territorial prelature will be the parish church of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané in Huancané.
The statistical data of the new territorial prelature of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané are as follows:
| Area: | 18.880,89 km² |
| Population: | 200.489 |
| Catholics: | 170.415 |
| Parishes: | 20 |
| Diocesan priests: | 13 |
| Religious priests: | 2 |
| Permanent deacons: | – |
| Seminarians: | 2 |
| Professed religious: | – |
| Religious sisters: | 14 |
The statistical data of the territorial prelature of Ayaviri are as follows:
| Area: | 20.712,85 km² |
| Population: | 179.596 |
| Catholics: | 152.656 |
| Parishes: | 21 |
| Diocesan priests: | 19 |
| Religious priests: | 1 |
| Permanent deacons: | – |
| Seminarians: | 4 |
| Professed religious: | 2 |
| Religious sisters: | 20 |
The statistical data of the territorial prelature of Juli are as follows:
| Area: | 9.919,51 km² |
| Population: | 189.819 |
| Catholics: | 161.314 |
| Parishes: | 14 |
| Diocesan priests: | 20 |
| Religious priests: | 2 |
| Permanent deacons: | – |
| Seminarians: | 7 |
| Professed religious: | – |
| Religious sisters: | 8 |
