Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brazzaville
| Archdiocese of Brazzaville Archidioecesis Brazzapolitana | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country |
 |
| Ecclesiastical province | Brazzaville |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 14,450 km2 (5,580 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2006) 758,000 431,225 (56.9%) |
| Parishes | 40 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 4 June 1886 (132 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Cathédrale Sacré-Coeur |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Anatole Milandou |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brazzaville (Latin: Archidioecesis Brazzapolitana) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo.
History
On 4 June 1886, Pope Leo XIII established the Apostolic Vicariate of French Congo from the Diocese of São Paulo de Loanda in Angola and the Apostolic Vicariate of Two Guineas in Gabon. It was renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Upper French Congo on 14 October 1890, and again on 14 June 1922 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Brazzaville. It lost territory in 1950 when the Apostolic Vicariate of Fort-Rousset was established. Pope Pius XII promoted the vicariate to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Brazzaville on 14 September 1955. It lost territory again in 1987 when the Diocese of Kinkala was established.[1][2]
Special churches
The seat of the archbishop is the Cathédrale Sacré-Coeur in Brazzaville, founded in 1887 by Monseigneur Augouard.
Ordinaries
- Vicars Apostolic of French Congo
- Antoine-Marie-Hippolyte Carrie, C.S.Sp. 1886.06.08 – 1890.10.14
- Vicars Apostolic of Upper French Congo (Roman rite)
- Prosper Philippe Augouard, C.S.Sp. 1890.10.14 – 1921.10.03
- Vicars Apostolic of Brazzaville
- Firmin-Jules Guichard, C.S.Sp. 1922.06.12 – 1936.04.27
- Paul Joseph Biéchy, C.S.Sp. 1936.01.27 – 1954
- Michel-Jules-Joseph-Marie Bernard, C.S.Sp. 1954.07.18 – 1955.09.14
- Metropolitan Archbishops of Brazzaville
- Michel-Jules-Joseph-Marie Bernard, C.S.Sp. 1955.09.14 – 1964.05.02
- Théophile Mbemba 1964.05.23 – 1971.06.14
- Emile Biayenda 1971.06.14 – 1977.03.23 (Cardinal in 1973)
- Barthélémy Batantu 1978.11.15 – 2001.01.23
- Anatole Milandou since 2001.01.23
Suffragan Diocese
See also
Sources
- ↑ "Archdiocese of Brazzaville". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ↑ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Brazzaville". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
Bibliography
- Maria Petringa, Brazza, A Life for Africa, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0