Archdiocese of Kinshasa

Archdiocese of Kinshasa

Archidioecesis Kinshasana

Archidiocèse de Kinshasa
Catholic
St. Anne's Church in Gombe
Location
CountryDemocratic Republic of the Congo
TerritoryKinshasa and surrounding districts
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince of Kinshasa
Statistics
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2016)
  • 11,323,000
  • 6,378,000 (56.3%)
Parishes143
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteRoman Rite
Established22 November 1888
CathedralOur Lady of the Congo Cathedral
Secular priests238
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
ArchbishopFridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap
Auxiliary Bishops
  • Charles Ndaka Salabisala
  • Edouard Isango Nkoyo
  • Edouard Tsimba Ngoma, C.I.C.M
[1]

The Archdiocese of Kinshasa (Latin: Archidioecesis Kinshasana; French: Archidiocèse de Kinshasa; Lingala: Archidiocèse ya Kinshasa) is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the capital city of Kinshasa and surrounding districts. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa. The current archbishop is Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.

Established as the Apostolic Vicariate of the Belgian Congo by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, it was raised to the status of an archdiocese in 1959. In 1966, its name was changed from the Archdiocese of Léopoldville to the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. Today, the archdiocese covers a territory of 8,500 km2 (3,283 sq mi) and, as of 2016, has a total population of 11,323,000, of whom 6,378,000 (56.3%) are Catholic.[2] The archdiocese is served by 1,208 priests, including 238 diocesan priests and 970 religious priests, 1,661 male religious (including religious priests and brothers), and 1,982 religious sisters.[2] The archdiocese has 143 parishes, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo in Kinshasa.[2]

History

The archdiocese was established on 22 November 1886, as the Mission sui iuris of the Belgian Congo, from territory taken from both the Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Congo (in Cubango, Angola) and the Apostolic Vicariate of Two Guineas (in Gabon). It was promoted on 11 May 1888, as the Apostolic Vicariate of Belgian Congo. Over time, it lost territory repeatedly: to establish the Mission sui juris of Kwango on 18 April 1892, the Apostolic Prefecture of Uélé on 12 May 1898, the Mission sui juris of Kasaï Supérieur on 26 July 1901, the Apostolic Prefecture of Stanley Falls on 3 August 1904, the Apostolic Prefecture of Ubangui Belge on 7 April 1911, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Matadi and the Apostolic Prefecture of Northern Katanga on 1 July 1911.

On 3 April 1919, it was renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville. It lost territory several times more: to establish the Mission sui juris of Bikoro on 3 January 1931, the Apostolic Vicariate of Boma on 26 February 1934, the Apostolic Prefecture of Kole on 14 June 1951, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Inongo on 29 June 1953. It was elevated on 10 November 1959 as the Archdiocese of Léopoldville, when the city was soon to become the national capital of the newly independent Republic of the Congo. It was renamed the Archdiocese of Kinshasa on 30 May 1966, when the city's name was changed from Léopoldville to Kinshasa. The archdiocese was visited by Pope John Paul II in May 1980 and again in August 1985.

Bishops

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of the Belgian Congo
  • François Camille Van Ronslé, C.I.C.M. (1896-1919); see below
Apostolic Vicars of Léopoldville
  • François Camille Van Ronslé, C.I.C.M. (1919-1926); see above
  • Natale de Cleene, C.I.C.M. (1926-1932)
  • Georges Six, C.I.C.M. (1934-1952)
  • Félix Scalais, C.I.C.M. (1953-1959); see below
Archbishops of Léopoldville
  • Félix Scalais, C.I.C.M. (1959-1964); see above
  • Joseph Malula (1964-1966); future Cardinal; see below
Archbishops of Kinshasa

Coadjutor bishops

  • Noël de Cleene, C.I.C.M. (1924-1926), as Coadjutor vicar apostolic
  • Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M. Cap. (2018); future Cardinal

Auxiliary Bishops of Kinshasa

Suffragan dioceses

The Archdiocese of Kinshasa is the metropolitan archdiocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa, which includes the following suffragan dioceses:

Apostolic regions

Kin – centre

Deanery[4] Parish[4] Year established[4]
Saint Peter Deanery St. Peter 1933
St. Anne 1913
St. Paul 1946
Our Lady of the Congo 1947
Our Lady of Fatima (Notre-Dame de Fatima) 1955
St. Andrew 1964
St. Eloi 1964
Sacré-Coeur 1965
St. Rombaut 1966
St. Muzeyi 1970
St. Kiwanuka 1980
Saint Joseph Deanery St. Joseph 1956
Christ-Roi 1951
St. Pius X 1956
St. Maria Goretti 1959
St. Anthony 1963
St. Vincent de Paul 1965
St. John the Baptist 1967
St. Clement 1970
St. Christ the Savior (Kristu Mobikisi) 1980
St. Clare 1990
St. Agatha 2003
Saint Gabriel Deanery St. Gabriel 1955
St. Dominic 1958
St. Raphael 1958
St. Augustine 1959
St. Matthias 1961
St. Adrian 1962
St. Felix 1962
St. Christine 1963
St. Lawrence 1971
St. Benedict 1992
Notre-Dame d'Afrique 1993
St. Amand 2001
Saint Alphonse Deanery St. Alphonse 1954
St. Esprit 1959
St. Stephen 1962
St. Kizito 1965
Bon Pasteur 1968
St. Thomas 1970
St. Mary Magdalene 1970
St. Trinité 1979
Résurrection 1980
St. John the Apostle 1981
Nativité 1985
St. Cyril 1985
St. Gonza 1986
St. Bernadette 1987
St. Bernard 1992
St. Felicity 1992
St. Ambrose 1993

Kin – East

Deanery[4] Parish[4] Year established[4]
Sainte Thérèse Deanery St. Thérèse 1954
St. Martin 1963
St. Famille 1963
St. Agnes 1964
St. Mbaga 1966
Coeur Immaculé de Marie 1980
St. Monica 1985
St. Timothy 1985
St. Francis Xavier 1990
Divin Maître 2000
Mary Help of Christians 2004
Saint Mark Deanery St. Mark 1961
St. Theophile 1963
Croix 1975
St. Boniface 1980
St. Frederick 1980
St. Kibuka 1980
Mama wa Boboto 1980
St. Bartholomew 1985
Mama wa Bosawa 1985
St. Athanasius 1990
Bisengo Mwambe 1991
St. Hilaire 2001
St. Banabakintu 2004
Saint James Deanery St. James 1961
St. Matthew 1956
St. Ngondwe Pontien 1980
Mary Mother of the Church 1982
St. Eugene 1990
St. Martha 1990
St. Angela 1991
Blessed Bakanja 1991
St. Yves 1993
St. Lucy 1999
Our Lady of Perpetual Help 2003

Kin – West

Deanery[4] Parish[4] Year established[4]
Saint Cyprian Deanery St. Cyprian 1970
St. Mukasa 1974
St. Gyavira 1980
St. Tharcisius 1985
St. Leonard 1989
Don Bosco 1990
St. Elizabeth 1993
St. Perpetua 1993
St. Damien 1995
St. Maurice 2000
Saint Francis Deanery St. Francis de Sales 1939
St. Leopold 1899
St. Michael 1955
St. Charles Lwanga 1961
St. Luke 1964
St. Philip 1969
St. Albert 1989
Saint Mawaggali Deanery St. Mawaggali 1974
Our Lady of Wisdom 1954
Christ the Consoler (Kristu Molobeli) 1980
St. Peter Claver 1984
St. Maximilian Kolbe 1985
Queen of the Apostles 1988
St. Norbert 1988
Blessed Sacrament Deanery Blessed Sacrament 1958
St. Christopher 1960
Ntombwa ya Maria 1980
Blessed Anuarite 1980
St. Leo 1981
St. Ignatius 1982
St. Camillus 1988
Our Lady of Grace 1989
St. Catherine 1992
Martyrs of Uganda 2002
St. Edward 2005

Military vicariate

Institution[4] Parish[4] Location (camp)[4]
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo St. Barbara Kokolo Camp
St. Sebastian Tshatshi Camp
St. Michael the Archangel CETA Camp
St. Cornelius Officers' Camp (Camp des Officiers) – Badiadingi
St. Joan of Arc Loano Camp
Our Lady of the Rosary Mbaki Camp – Ndolo
Congolese National Police (PNC) St. Serunkuma Lufungula Camp
St. George Police Training Camp – Matete

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kinshasa (Archdiocese) - Bishops". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Cheney, David M. "Kinshasa (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Holy See Press Office announces new Archbishop for Kinshasa - Vatican News". November 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mely-Ibaa, John Nshole (2009). "Le discours comme enjeu du marketing religieux. Analyse du discours de l'archevêque de Kinshasa" [Discourse as a tool of religious marketing: An analysis of the Archbishop of Kinshasa's discourse] (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Université des sciences de l'Information et de la communication (UNISIC). Retrieved 21 February 2026.

4°19′26″S 15°17′40″E / 4.3238°S 15.2944°E / -4.3238; 15.2944

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