Diocese of Bougainville
Buganvillen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
The Diocese of Bougainville is a Latin rite diocese covering the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rabaul. Erected in 1898 as the Prefecture Apostolic of the German Solomon Islands, it became a vicariate apostolic in 1930 and a diocese in 1966. Its seat is Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral in Buka.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 15 November 1966
- Latin
- Buganvillen(sis)
- Annuario code
- 001000940
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 223,386
- Priests
- 35
- Catholics per priest
- 6,382
- Extent
- 10,660 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 21
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
- Dariusz Kaluza, M.S.F.
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 Assumption Cathedral, Buka stands in Bougainville, 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 Rabaul
A suffragan of Rabaul.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of RabaulRabaul
- Diocese of KaviengKavieng
- Diocese of KimbeKimbe
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
What is now the Diocese of Bougainville, a Latin Catholic suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rabaul, began in 1898 as the Prefecture Apostolic of German Solomon Islands, became a Vicariate Apostolic in 1930, and was raised to diocesan rank in 1966. Its cathedral is Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Buka; earlier it had been the Church of St. Michael the Archangel at the former Tubiana mission.
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].