The Military Bishopric of Paraguay is a military ordinariate

Military ordinariate

A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. Immediately subject to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, it provides pastoral care

Pastoral care

Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...

 to Roman Catholics serving in the Paraguayan Armed Forces

Military of Paraguay

The armed forces of Paraguay consist of the Paraguayan army, navy and air force.The constitution of Paraguay establishes the president of Paraguay as the commander-in-chief....

 and their families.

History

It was established as a military vicariate on 20 December 1961, but the first military vicar was not appointed until 7 December 1965. It was elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986.

Military vicars

• Augustin Rodríguez (appointed 7 December 1965 – died 1969)
• Juan Moleón Andreu (appointed 1 February 1972 – died 20 September 1980 )
• No military vicars (1980–1986).

Military ordinaries

• No military ordinaries (1986–1992).
• Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga, C.Ss.R.
  Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
  The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer is a Roman Catholic missionary Congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, near Amalfi, Italy for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people in the neighbourhood of Naples.Members of the Congregation, priests and brothers,...
  
   (appointed 5 May 1992 – translated to the Archdiocese of Asunción
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Asunción
  The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Asunción is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Paraguay. It was erected it as the Diocese of Paraguay by Pope Paul III on July 1, 1547, and was elevated to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Pius XI on...
  
   15 June 2002)
• Ricardo Valenzuela Rios (current incumbent, appointed 24 May 2003)