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his desk in the rectory, with a machete the likely weapon. The perpetrator and motive remain a mystery. In 1963 a
Catholic primary school building of reinforced concrete was built. The next year the Jesuits handed the parish over to the diocesan clergy, with Fr. Herbert Panton its first native pastor. The Catholic community
392:
increased its presence in Belize from the early 1990s, beginning in Benque. Deacon Cal
Cathers of SOLT founded BRC printing in Benque to improve the quality of elementary school textbooks in Belize, with his grandson Daryl Rene Calvin Cathers to implement and encourage further development for humble
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through whose "self-sacrificing interest and persevering efforts football campus came as if by magic out of what was hitherto useless tropical bush.". St. Joseph
Convent on the street of that name was completed in 1952. On 18 January 1961 Fr. Sontag, Jesuit pastor in Benque, was found murdered at
382:
subsidized their convent from her inheritance. On the night of 16 November 1937 a fire destroyed the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and Fr. Kuenzel undertook to build the new church. In 1950, Kuenzel persuaded the Town Board to name the new football field after
Corporal
327:. It grew as a lumber camp on the Mopan River that flowed into the Belize River, to the coast at Belize Town. The Mayas had been catechized by Spanish Catholic missionaries, leading to the predominance of the Catholic church in Benque, which holds the earliest
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355:, visited Benque, remaining from 1887 to 1889. In the 1890s the population was about 500. In 1904 a permanent Catholic residency was established by Jesuit
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Osborne, F.J. (1988). British
Honduras. History of the Catholic Church in Jamaica, 274-509. Chicago: Loyola University, 286.
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During the first years of the 21st century Benque experienced a rapid boom in population. In 2010 its population, mostly of
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620:"Belize: Districts, Towns & Villages - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information"
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At the time of the 2010 census, Benque Viejo del Carmen had a population of 6,148. Of these, 93.4% were
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descent, was 5,824 (2,906 males and 2,918 females); households numbered 1,415 with average size 4.1.
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to receive a secondary education in
English. Benque offers primary and secondary education,
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Benque has long been the place where tourists and merchants cross to
Melchor and purchase
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352:
351:. During the 1880s Fr. Jose Maria Pinelo, a refugee from Petén during the presidency of
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priest and military leader in the unsuccessful effort to defeat the liberals in Spain's
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Years of Grace: The
History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524-2014
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are nearby. Film director Caleb Botton used the town as the backdrop for
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In terms of languages spoken (multiple answers allowed), 97.0% spoke
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As of May 2015, the mayor is
Heraldo "Rancha" Ramcharan Jr. of the
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Benque
Communion class with Pallottines & Fr. Versavel, c. 1920
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652:. Belize City: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan.
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Then in 1913, at the persuasion of Jesuit Fr. Versavel, the
598:"Mid-Year Population Estimates by Area and Sex 2008 - 2015"
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Fr. Bavastro in May 1865. In 1877 the town was served by
571:. Statistical Institute of Belize. 2013. Archived from
701:" MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS OFFICIAL RESULTS 4th MARCH 2015
287:, 130 km (81 mi) by road west and south of
672:"The Bishop's Visit to The Cayo and Benque Viejo".
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499:and 0.3% other languages; 0.1% could not speak.
374:sisters came from Germany and served first in
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307:runs along the town's north and west edges.
648:Woods, Charles M. Sr.; et al. (2015).
566:"Belize Population and Housing Census 2010"
705:Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission
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548:, which also controls the town council.
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90:Map of Benque Viejo's metropolitan area
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690:Population & Housing Census 2010
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51:Benque Viejo del Carmen from north
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766:Belize–Guatemala border crossings
756:Populated places in Cayo District
600:. Statistical Institute of Belize
299:lies 13 km to the east and
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69:
45:
341:Manuel Ignacio Santa Cruz Loidi
520:Belize Premier Football League
279:("Benque") is the westernmost
1:
18:Town in Cayo District, Belize
315:Benque was first settled by
303:just across the border. The
514:, an annual fiesta, and is
218: • Estimate
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707:. (accessed 16 March 2015)
357:Fr. William “Buck” Stanton
508:cross the border each day
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537:which featured Benque's
200:129 m (423 ft)
546:United Democratic Party
506:. Now Guatemalan youth
277:Benque Viejo del Carmen
40:Benque Viejo del Carmen
367:
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311:Historical background
676:: 25. February 1894.
728: /
114: /
578:on 27 January 2016
378:. Mother (Saint)
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210: • Total
732:17.067°N 89.133°W
349:Third Carlist War
301:Melchor de Mencos
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118:17.067°N 89.133°W
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535:7 Days in Carmel
380:Katharine Drexel
321:Flores, El Petén
269:Official website
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541:processions.
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504:Maya textiles
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333:Cayo District
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189:Gerardo Sosa
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183: •
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160:Cayo District
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99:Coordinates:
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602:. Retrieved
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580:. Retrieved
573:the original
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527:ancient Maya
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512:supermarkets
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485:Yucatec Maya
458:
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435:Yucatec Maya
400:
397:Demographics
369:
314:
276:
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167:Constituency
84:Benque Viejo
25:Benque Viejo
15:
735: /
674:The Angelus
531:Xunantunich
489:Ketchi Maya
439:Ketchi Maya
385:Marchalleck
331:records in
305:Mopan River
297:San Ignacio
289:Belize City
231:Benqueño(a)
121: /
750:Categories
552:References
493:Mopan Maya
431:Mopan Maya
372:Pallottine
293:Guatemalan
205:Population
178:Government
761:Cayo West
539:Holy Week
529:ruins of
477:Cantonese
441:and 0.1%
427:Caucasian
423:Mennonite
329:Baptismal
325:Guatemala
291:, at the
237:Time zone
197:Elevation
172:Cayo West
481:Garifuna
473:Mandarin
463:, 69.9%
419:Garifuna
295:border.
155:District
723:89°08′W
720:17°04′N
495:, 0.1%
491:, 0.2%
487:, 0.2%
483:, 0.3%
479:, 0.5%
471:, 0.6%
467:, 7.4%
465:English
461:Spanish
454:Mestizo
443:African
437:, 0.1%
433:, 0.2%
429:, 0.3%
425:, 0.3%
421:, 0.4%
417:, 0.5%
413:, 0.7%
409:, 1.5%
405:, 2.4%
403:Mestizo
265:Website
254:Climate
246:Central
227:Demonym
135:Country
109:89°08′W
106:17°04′N
604:14 May
582:14 May
522:team.
497:German
469:Creole
411:Creole
393:town.
376:Benque
345:Basque
337:Jesuit
285:Belize
148:Belize
145:
59:Benque
576:(PDF)
569:(PDF)
518:to a
415:Asian
407:Mixed
335:from
319:from
242:UTC-6
221:6,684
213:6,140
191:(UDP)
185:Mayor
606:2016
584:2016
525:The
516:home
450:Maya
390:SOLT
343:, a
317:Maya
281:town
33:Town
475:or
452:or
359:.
283:in
752::
703:,
682:^
628:^
445:.
323:,
259:Aw
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608:.
586:.
248:)
244:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
