Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta
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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 September 1, 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 February 23, 2012.[1]
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
- 1834 - 1838 : Robert Saint–Leger, S.J.
- 1838 - 1840 : Jean-Louis Taberd, M.E.P.
- 1840 - 1850 : Patrick Joseph Carew
Apostolic Vicars of West Bengal[2]
- 1850 - 1855 : Patrick Joseph Carew
- 1855 - 1859 : Marc-Thomas Olliffe
- 1858 - 1864 : Sede vacante (Auguste Goiran, Administrator)
- 1864 - 1865 : Augustus van Heule, S.J.
- 1865 - 1867 : Sede vacante (Honoré van der Stuyft, S.J., Administrator)
- 1867 - 1877 : Walter Herman Jacobus Steins, S.J.
- 1877 - 1886 : Paul François Marie Goethals, S.J.
Archbishops of Calcutta[3]
- 1886 - 1901 : Paul François Marie Goethals, S.J.
- 1902 - 1924 : Brice Meuleman, S.J.
- 1924 - 1960 : Ferdinand Périer, S.J.
- 1960 - 1962 : Vivian Anthony Dyer
- 1962 - 1969 : Albert Vincent D'Souza
- 1969 - 1986 : Lawrence Trevor Cardinal Picachy, S.J.
- 1986 - 2002 : Henry Sebastian D'Souza
- 2002 - 2012 : Lucas Sirkar, S.D.B.
- 2012 - Pres : Thomas D'Souza
References
- ^ (en) “Thomas D’Souza becomes Archbishop of Calcutta”, Vatican Radio, 23 February 2012
- ^ (en) “Past and Present Ordinaries”, Archdiocese of Calcutta, Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 2 February 2012
- ^ (en) Ibid.
External links
- Archdiocese of Calcutta
- Catholic-Hierarchy
- Giga-Catholic Information
"Archdiocese of Calcutta". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
