Archdiocese of Rabaul
Rabaulen(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
The Archdiocese of Rabaul is a Latin rite metropolitan see covering East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, with the Dioceses of Bougainville, Kavieng and Kimbe as suffragans. Erected in 1890 as the Vicariate Apostolic of New Pomerania from the Vicariate of Melanesia, it became a metropolitan archdiocese on 15 November 1966. Its seat is Sacred Heart Cathedral in Vunapope, with St. Francis Xavier Co-Cathedral in Rabaul.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 15 November 1966
- Latin
- Rabaulen(sis)
- Annuario code
- 001002709
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 191,400
- Priests
- 73
- Catholics per priest
- 2,622
- Extent
- 19,320 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 9.9
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
- Rochus Josef Tatamai, M.S.C.
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
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Vunapope stands in Rabaul, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
Its co-cathedral is St. Francis Xavier Co-Cathedral, Rabaul.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Rabaul
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of BougainvilleBougainville
- Diocese of KaviengKavieng
- Diocese of KimbeKimbe
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
A Latin Catholic metropolitan archdiocese in Papua New Guinea, the Archdiocese of Rabaul divides its episcopal see between Sacred Heart Cathedral in Vunapope and Saint Francis Xavier Co-Cathedral in Rabaul. Rochus Josef Tatamai, M.S.C., appointed by Pope Francis on June 19, 2020, is the current Archbishop of Rabaul.
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].