Archdiocese of Kinshasa
Kinshasan(us)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Latin-rite metropolitan archdiocese covering the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tracing to the 1886 Mission of Belgian Congo, elevated to Archdiocese of Leopoldville on 10 November 1959 and renamed Kinshasa on 30 May 1966. Its seat is Our Lady of the Congo Cathedral, and it is led by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu. Suffragans: Boma, Idiofa, Inongo, Kenge, Kikwit, Kisantu, Matadi, and Popokabaka.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 30 May 1966
- Latin
- Kinshasan(us)
- Annuario code
- 001001867
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 6,378,000
- Population
- 11,323,000
- Catholic share
- 56.3%
- Priests
- 238
- Catholics per priest
- 26,798
- Extent
- 8,500 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 750
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
- His Eminence Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M. Cap.
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
Our Lady of the Congo Cathedral stands in Kinshasa, 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 Kinshasa
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of BomaBoma
- Diocese of IdiofaIdiofa
- Diocese of InongoInongo
- Diocese of KengeKenge
- Diocese of KikwitKikwit
- Diocese of KisantuKisantu
- Diocese of MatadiMatadi
- Diocese of PopokabakaPopokabaka
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Covering the capital city of Kinshasa and its surrounding districts, the Archdiocese of Kinshasa (Latin: Archidioecesis Kinshasana; French: Archidiocèse de Kinshasa; Lingala: Archidiocèse ya Kinshasa) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa, and its current archbishop is Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
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].