Archdiocese of Kinshasa Archidioecesis Kinshasana Archidiocèse de Kinshasa | |
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Catholic | |
Location | |
Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Territory | Kinshasa and surrounding districts |
Ecclesiastical province | Province of Kinshasa |
Statistics | |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2016) 11,323,000 6,378,000 (56.3%) |
Parishes | 143 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | 22 November 1888 |
Cathedral | Our Lady of the Congo Cathedral |
Secular priests | 238 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap |
Auxiliary Bishops | [1] |
Bishops emeritus | Edouard Kisonga Ndinga |
The Archdiocese of Kinshasa (Latin: Archidioecesis Kinshasana; French: Archidiocèse de Kinshasa) is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the capital city of Kinshasa and surrounding districts. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa. The current archbishop is Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
Established as the Apostolic Vicariate of the Belgian Congo by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, it was raised to the status of an archdiocese in 1959. In 1966, its name was changed from the Archdiocese of Léopoldville to the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. Today, the archdiocese covers a territory of 8,500 km2 (3,283 sq mi) and, as of 2016, has a total population of 11,323,000, of whom 6,378,000 (56.3%) are Catholic.[2] The archdiocese is served by 1,208 priests, including 238 diocesan priests and 970 religious priests, 1,661 male religious (including religious priests and brothers), and 1,982 religious sisters.[2] The archdiocese has 143 parishes, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo in Kinshasa.[2]