Diocese of Rundu
Runduen(sis)
Apostolic vicariate · Latin Church · Rundu, Namibia
Rundu is a Latin Catholic Apostolic Vicariate in northeastern Namibia, erected in 1994 and dependent on the Holy See. Linus Ngenomesho, O.M.I., long-serving Apostolic Administrator, was appointed Apostolic Vicar in May 2026 and awaits episcopal ordination.
The see
- Rank
- Apostolic vicariate
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 14 March 1994
- Latin
- Runduen(sis)
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Annuario code
- 001000450
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 122,320
- Population
- 298,976
- Catholic share
- 40.9%
- Priests
- 24
- Catholics per priest
- 5,097
- Extent
- 140,046 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 0.9
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
- Apostolic Administrator
- Linus Ngenomesho
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
Saint Mary's Cathedral, Rundu stands in Rundu, 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 Windhoek
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Windhoek.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of WindhoekWindhoek
- Diocese of KeetmanshoopKeetmanshoop
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
In Namibia, in southwestern Africa, the Apostolic Vicariate of Rundu (Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Runduensis) is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate with its cathedral episcopal seat at St. Mary's in the city of Rundu. Though a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, it is not exempt: it stands as a suffragan within the province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Windhoek.
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].