Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain () is a metropolitan diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The Archdiocese encompasses the entirety of the former Spanish dependency of Trinidad, including the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The Archdiocese is the Metropolitan responsible for the suffragan Dioceses of Bridgetown, Georgetown, Paramaribo and Willemstad, and is a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference. The diocese of Port of Spain was originally erected as a Vicariate Apostolic in 1818 and elevated to an Archdiocese in April 1830. The
Port of Spain the old capital, San José de Oruña (modern Saint Joseph), about inland, had fallen into disrepair, and Governor Don Pedro de la Moneda transferred his seat to Port of Spain, which thus became Trinidad's de facto capital. The last Spanish Governor of Trinidad, Don José Maria Chacón, devoted much of his time to developing the new capital. He compelled the island's Cabildo (governing council) to move to Port of Spain, and he limited its powers to the municipality. The 1783 Cedula of Population, which encouraged the settlement of French Catholics in the island, led to a rapid increase in the