Archdiocese of Maseru
Maseruen(us)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Maseru, Lesotho
The Archdiocese of Maseru is the metropolitan Latin Church see for Lesotho, established as an apostolic prefecture in 1894 and elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese on 3 January 1961. Its suffragans are Leribe, Mohale's Hoek, and Qacha's Nek.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 3 January 1961
- Latin
- Maseruen(us)
- Annuario code
- 001002177
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 495,181
- Population
- 987,222
- Catholic share
- 50.2%
- Priests
- 62
- Catholics per priest
- 7,987
- Extent
- 7,739 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 64
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
- Gerard Tlali Lerotholi
- Born
- 12 February 1954
- Birthplace
- Maphiring Mokhotlong
- Institute
- MISSIONARI OBLATI DI MARIA IMMACOLATA
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 Victories Cathedral stands in Maseru, 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 Maseru
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of LeribeLeribe
- Diocese of Mohale’s HoekMohale’s Hoek
- Diocese of Qacha’s NekQacha’s Nek
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Lesotho's ecclesiastical province of Maseru is headed by the metropolitan see of the same name (Latin: Maseruen(us)). Its cathedral church is the Our Lady of Victories Cathedral.
How to reach it
- Chancery
- Archbishop’s House, P.O. Box 267, 19 Orpen Rd., Maseru 100, Lesotho
- Telephone
- 22.31.25.65; fax 22.31.04.25
This see keeps no website of its own, so its chancery is published here: withholding it would protect nothing and leave a reader with nowhere to go. Where a see publishes its own site, the register sends you there instead.
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 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
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].