Diocese of Xai-Xai
Xai-Xaien(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Xai-Xai, Mozambique
The Diocese of Xai-Xai is a Latin Church suffragan diocese in Mozambique, erected on 19 June 1970 (originally as the Diocese of Joao Belo, renamed in 1976). The see became vacant in December 2025 after Bishop Lucio Andrice Muandula was transferred to Chimoio, and is administered by Apostolic Administrator Francisco Chimoio.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1 October 1976
- Latin
- Xai-Xaien(sis)
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Annuario code
- 001000174
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 174,229
- Population
- 1,289,000
- Catholic share
- 13.5%
- Priests
- 35
- Catholics per priest
- 4,978
- Extent
- 75,709 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 2.3
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
- Francisco Chimoio
- Born
- 6 December 1947
- Birthplace
- Búzi-Sofala
- Institute
- ORDINE FRANCESCANO FRATI MINORI CAPPUCCINI
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
Catedral Sao Joao Baptista stands in Xai-Xai, 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 Maputo
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Maputo.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of MaputoMaputo
- Diocese of InhambaneInhambane
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Seated in the city of Xai-Xai in Mozambique, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Xai-Xai (Latin: Xai-Xaien(sis)) forms part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Maputo.
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].