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The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta (Latin: Archidioecesis Calcuttensis) is an ecclesiastical Latin Church territory of the Catholic Church in India.
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 |
| Archbishop | Thomas D'Souza[3][4] |
| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
History edit
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. As of 2020[update], the metropolitan province of Calcutta covers 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 Thomas D'Souza, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 23 February 2012.[5]
Territory edit
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 edit
Apostolic vicars of Bengal edit
- 1834 - 1838 : Robert Saint–Leger
- 1838 - 1840 : Jean-Louis Taberd
- 1840 - 1850 : Patrick Joseph Carew
Apostolic vicars of West Bengal[6] edit
- 1850 - 1855 : Patrick Joseph Carew
- 1855 - 1859 : Marc-Thomas Olliffe
- 1858 - 1864 : Sede vacante (Auguste Goiran, Administrator)
- 1864 - 1865 : Augustus van Heule
- 1865 - 1867 : Sede vacante (Honoré van der Stuyft, Administrator)
- 1867 - 1877 : Walter Herman Jacobus Steins
- 1877 - 1886 : Paul François Marie Goethals
Archbishops of Calcutta[6] edit
- 1886 - 1901 : Paul François Marie Goethals
- 1902 - 1924 : Brice Meuleman
- 1924 - 1960 : Ferdinand Perier
- 1960 - 1962 : Vivian Anthony Dyer
- 1962 - 1969 : Albert Vincent D'Souza
- 1969 - 1986 : Lawrence Trevor Cardinal Picachy
- 1986 - 2002 : Henry Sebastian D'Souza
- 2002 - 2012 : Lucas Sirkar
- 2012 - Pres : Thomas D'Souza
Saints and causes for canonisation edit
- St. Teresa of Calcutta lived and served in Calcutta.[7]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Mother Teresa named co-patron of Calcutta archdiocese | News Headlines". Catholic Culture. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Archbishop Thomas D'Souza condemns rape of nun". Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ asianetnews (1 September 2016), Mother Teresa's canonization : Kolkata archbishop Thomas d'souza Sharing Memories, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 20 August 2017
- ^ (en) "Thomas D’Souza becomes Archbishop of Calcutta", Vatican Radio, 23 February 2012
- ^ a b (en) "Past and Present Ordinaries" Archived 28 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Archdiocese of Calcutta, Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 2 February 2012
- ^ "Saints & Blessed – CCBI". Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
External links edit
- Archdiocese of Calcutta
- Catholic-Hierarchy
- GCatholic.org
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.