Diocese of Sofia–Plovdiv
Sophiae et Philippopolis
Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See · Latin Church · Sofia–Plovdiv, Bulgaria
The Diocese of Sofia-Plovdiv is a Latin Catholic diocese covering southern Bulgaria, promoted to a diocese in 1979 from an apostolic vicariate and immediately subject to the Holy See. Its cathedral is St. Louis of France in Plovdiv, with a co-cathedral of St. Joseph in Sofia.
The see
- Rank
- Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1979
- Latin
- Sophiae et Philippopolis
- Annuario code
- 001003080
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 33,000
- Population
- 4,935,000
- Catholic share
- 0.7%
- Priests
- 22
- Catholics per priest
- 1,500
- Extent
- 80,000 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 0.4
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
- Bishop
- Rumen Ivanov Stanev
- Born
- 19 August 1973
- Birthplace
- Kaloyanovo
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of St. Louis of France, Plovdiv stands in Sofia–Plovdiv, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
Its co-cathedral is Cathedral of St. Joseph, Sofia.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
History
Southern Bulgaria in its entirety belongs to the Latin Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv (Latin: Diœcesis Sophiae et Philippopolis); the rest of the country falls within the Diocese of Nicopoli. The diocese is exempt, immediately subject to the Holy See and part of no ecclesiastical province. Its episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St Louis in Plovdiv, joined by a newer co-cathedral in Sofia, the Cathedral of St. Joseph, consecrated on May 21, 2006 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano; Pope John Paul II had symbolically begun its construction during his 2002 visit to Sofia.
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 · GCatholic
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].