Catholic Church

On September 9, 1513 , just twenty-one Ainu after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas , the Catholic Church was born in Panama in the Darien region . Under the direction of the Spanish bishop , the Franciscan Juan de Quevedo , he founded the first mainland dioceses in America with the name of Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien. The Bull " Pastoralis oficil debitum " founding document was signed by Pope Leo X.

Few aiftos later, climatic and social reasons and being the bishop in conflictual relations with Governor Pedrarlas of Avila because this bishop was defense of the Indians , the diocese moved to the small town of Panama where it had its headquarters to the ALNO 1671, when the city was burned by the pirate Henry Morgan . As an emotional memory of this stage is preserved today in ruins , the tower of the cathedral . Then the headquarters moved to the new city whose center was the old part of our current capital.

Throughout the colonial period the Catholic Church , and of evangelization through their missionary work , pastoral and educational across the country , participated in the most important events of our civil history and that tradition has been preserved to this day .