Archdiocese of Cape Town
Civitatis Capitis
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Cape Town, South Africa
Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church in South Africa, established in 1818 as the Apostolic Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope and elevated to an archdiocese in 1951. Archbishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka was appointed to lead the see in January 2026.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 11 January 1951
- Latin
- Civitatis Capitis
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt and St. Patrick
- Annuario code
- 001001049
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 276,415
- Population
- 4,975,701
- Catholic share
- 5.6%
- Priests
- 72
- Catholics per priest
- 3,839
- Extent
- 30,892 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 8.9
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
- Archbishop
- Sithembele Anton Sipuka
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 Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt stands in Cape Town, 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 Cape Town
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of AliwalAliwal
- Diocese of De AarDe Aar
- Diocese of OudtshoornOudtshoorn
- Diocese of Port ElizabethPort Elizabeth
- Diocese of QueenstownQueenstown
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
In the south-western region of South Africa, the Archdiocese of Cape Town (Latin: Sedis Archiepiscopalis Capetownensis) is a Latin Catholic jurisdiction seated in Cape Town. The archbishop's cathedra rests in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flight into Egypt, the archdiocese's principal church, whose dedication also serves as the patroness saint of the archdiocese.
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].