Roman Catholic Diocese of Ambanja
Diocese of Ambanja Dioecesis Ambaniaënsis | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country |  Madagascar |
| Metropolitan | Antsiranana |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 34,083 km2 (13,160 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2006) 1,241,000 109,217 (8.8%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Cathedral | Saint Joseph Cathedral[1] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Donatien Francis Randriamalala, MS |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ambanja (
Latin: Ambaniaën[sis]) is a diocese located in the city of Ambanja in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Antsiranana in Madagascar
. Its episcopal see is the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, which was constructed in 1933.
History
On September 4, 1848, the Apostolic Prefecture of Isole di Mayotta, Nossi-Bé e Comore was established from the
Fathers of the Holy Ghost
.
In 1898, when the same missionaries were given the ecclesiastical administration of Northern Madagascar, these smaller islands and
Apostolic Vicariate of Diégo-Suarez. Santa Maria and Nossi-Bé had resident missionaries.[2]
- June 14, 1938: Renamed as Apostolic Prefecture of Ambanja
- Promoted on March 8, 1951 as Apostolic Vicariateof Ambanja
- Promoted on September 14, 1955 as Diocese of Ambanja, yet remains dependent in Rome on the missionary Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
- On 5 June 1975, it lost its original missionary territory (modern Apostolic Administration of the Comoros Archipelago.
Incumbent Ordinaries
- all Roman Rite (Latin)
- Apostolic Prefect of Mayotte, Nosy-Be and Comore
- Friar Callisto Lopinot, OFMCap (1932.05.15 – 1937)
- Apostolic Prefect of Ambanja
- Fr. Léon-Adolphe Messmer, OFMCap (1937.11.12 – 1951.03.08 see below)
- Apostolic Vicar of Ambanja
- Bishop Léon-Adolphe Messmer, OFMCap, Coropissus(see above 1951.03.08 – 1955.09.14 see below)
- Suffragan Bishops of Ambanja
- Léon-Adolphe Messmer, OFMCap (see above 1955.09.14 – 1975.06.05), later permanent Apostolic Administrator of Comores (Comoros) (1975.06.05 – 1980.05.02)
- Ferdinand Botsy, OFMCap (1976.07.08 – 1997.10.25)
- Odon Marie Arsène Razanakolona(1998.11.28 – 2005.12.07), later Metropolitan Archbishop of Antananarivo (Madagascar) (2005.12.07 – ...),
- remaining Apostolic Administrator(2005.12.07 – 2007.11.07)
- remaining
- Rosario Saro Vella, SDB (2007.11.07 – 2019.07.08), appointed Bishop of Moramanga
- Donatien Francis Randriamalala, MS (2022.11.11 – ...)
See also
- Roman Catholicism in Madagascar
References
- ^ (in French) Monographie de la Région Diana Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine (pages 37/38)
- ^ Wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Mayotte, Nossi-Bé, and Comoro