Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta

Archdiocese of Calcutta
Archidioecesis Calcuttensis
কলকাতার বিশপের এলাকা
Location
Country  India
Ecclesiastical province Calcutta
Statistics
Area 11,532 sq mi (29,870 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2006)
31,152,686
145,246 (0.5%)
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established 18 April 1834
Cathedral Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary
Patron saint St Francis Xavier,[1] St Teresa of Calcutta[2]
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop His Grace the Rt. Rev. Thomas D’Souza
Emeritus Bishops His Grace the Rt. Rev. Henry Sebastian D’Souza Archbishop Emeritus (1986-2002)
His Grace the Rt. Rev. Lucas Sirkar Archbishop Emeritus (2002-2012)
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta (Latin: Archidioecesis Calcuttensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in India.

History

The Archdiocese was originally erected as the Apostolic Vicariate of Bengal in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI, and renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Bengal in 1850 by Gregory's successor, Pope Pius IX.

On 1 September 1886, when the Catholic hierarchy was created in British India by Pope Leo XIII, the Vicariate was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese and renamed as the "Archdiocese of Calcutta".

Over the course of times the Archdiocese was frequently divided and new metropolitan provinces were created : Ranchi, Guwahati, and Patna. At the beginning of the 21st century, the metropolitan province of Calcutta covers only the state of West Bengal. The suffragan sees are : Asansol, Bagdogra, Baruipur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Krishnagar, and Raiganj.

The archdiocese's cathedral, the seat of its archbishop, is the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary, commonly called the "Portuguese Church". Calcutta also houses the oldest Catholic church in the area, the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, in Bandel - a former Portuguese settlement - some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of Kolkata.

The current Archbishop of Calcutta is His Excellency Thomas D'Souza, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 23 February 2012.[3]

Territory

The Archdiocese of Calcutta currently covers the Districts of Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur and North 24 Parganas in the State of West Bengal.

List of Ordinaries of Calcutta

Apostolic Vicars of Bengal

Apostolic Vicars of West Bengal[4]

Archbishops of Calcutta[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=32646
  2. ↑ Manik Banerjee (6 September 2017). "Vatican declares Mother Teresa a patron saint of Calcutta". Associated Press, ABC News.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  3. ↑ (en) "Thomas D’Souza becomes Archbishop of Calcutta", Vatican Radio, 23 February 2012
  4. ↑ (en) "Past and Present Ordinaries", Archdiocese of Calcutta, Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 2 February 2012
  5. ↑ (en) Ibid.
  • Archdiocese of Calcutta
  • Catholic-Hierarchy
  • GCatholic.org
  •  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Archdiocese of Calcutta". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Coordinates: 22°34′N 88°21′E / 22.567°N 88.350°E / 22.567; 88.350

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