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Suffragan diocese Rumbek, South Sudan

Diocese of Rumbek

Rumbeken(sis)

Latin Church

The Diocese of Rumbek is a Latin Catholic diocese in South Sudan, erected as an apostolic vicariate in 1955 and raised to a diocese in 1974. The see has been vacant since July 2024, when Bishop Christian Carlassare was transferred to the new Diocese of Bentiu while continuing to serve Rumbek as Apostolic Administrator.

On the map

Esri
The address the register holds for Holy Family Cathedral, Rumbek, in Rumbek, South Sudan.

Every see on one map: browse the dioceses. Churches with recorded hours: find Mass times.

Established
1974
Catholics
212,000
Priests
31
Territory
60,000 km²

Parishes and churches

7 listed churches in our records. Open a parish for Mass times, confession, directions and sources where recorded.

This is our recorded coverage, not an official diocesan parish count. Confirm service times with the parish before travelling.

The bishop

Apostolic Administrator
Christian Carlassare
Born
1 October 1977
Birthplace
Schio
Institute
MISSIONARI COMBONIANI DEL CUORE DI GESÙ

Explore the ministry of the bishop.

The cathedral

Holy Family Cathedral, Rumbek stands in Rumbek, 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.

This see in the wire

Stories that name this see

The wire's resolver matched this see in the text of each story.

  • “Painful to write”: Kenyan Priest on Biography of Italian Bishop who Shaped Vocation in South Sudan

    Kenyan priest Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla launched a biography of the late Bishop Caesar Mazzolari, who served the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek in South Sudan. During the book launch, Fr. Onyalla described the process of writing about the Italian bishop as painful because it required revisiting the final moments of a man he considered a spiritual father. The biography, titled "Bishop Caesar Mazzolari: A Servant after the Heart of Jesus among South Sudanese," details the life of the bishop who died during Mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Rumbek on July 16, 2011. Fr. Onyalla, who is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, noted that Bishop Mazzolari helped him maintain his path toward the priesthood after he was separated from the Spiritans while preparing for his perpetual profession. Fr. Onyalla recalled that the bishop visited him on the evening of July 15, 2011, the day before he collapsed during the consecration at Mass. The priest, who made his own perpetual profession on the same day as the book launch, said the unexpected visit felt like a final farewell.

    Sep 28, 2026 · Bishops

  • ACI Africa Editor Grateful to Reunite with Spiritans Over 20 Years after Painful Separation

    Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla, the Editor-in-Chief of ACI Africa, will make his perpetual profession as a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) on Sunday, September 27. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at St. Austin’s Msongari Parish in the Archdiocese of Nairobi. Fr. Onyalla began his formation with the Spiritans in 1993 but was dismissed from the congregation in 2002 while preparing for his perpetual profession. Following his dismissal, Bishop Caesar Mazzolari, then Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek in South Sudan, supported him through a period of discernment. This led to Fr. Onyalla being ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rumbek in March 2005. The Kenyan priest, who holds a doctorate in media studies from Daystar University, said he approaches this return to the missionary family with gratitude and peace after more than two decades away from the congregation.

    Sep 27, 2026 · Bishops

Filed by our own wire from published sources. Read the wire.