Diocese of Gent
Gandaven(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Gent, Belgium
The Diocese of Ghent is a Latin Church suffragan diocese in Belgium, founded in 1559 and coextensive with the province of East Flanders. As of 2026 the see is vacant following the retirement of Bishop Lode Van Hecke, with the diocese a suffragan of Mechelen-Brussels.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 12 May 1559
- Latin
- Gandaven(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Bavo of Ghent
- Annuario code
- 001001482
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,088,100
- Population
- 1,539,800
- Catholic share
- 70.7%
- Priests
- 277
- Catholics per priest
- 3,928
- Extent
- 2,995 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 363
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
The register holds no ordinary for this see. Where a chair is vacant the vacancy is the fact, and it is recorded rather than filled in. See the bishop.
The cathedral
St. Bavo's Cathedral stands in Gent, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Mechelen-Brussels
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussel, Malines-BruxellesMechelen-Brussel, Malines-Bruxelles
- Diocese of Antwerpen, AnversAntwerpen, Anvers
- Diocese of Brugge, BrugesBrugge, Bruges
- Diocese of HasseltHasselt
- Diocese of LiègeLiège
- Diocese of Namur, NamenNamur, Namen
- Diocese of Tournai, DoornikTournai, Doornik
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Saint Bavo of Ghent is the patron of the Diocese of Ghent (Latin: Dioecesis Gandavensis), a Latin Church diocese in Belgium and a suffragan of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].