Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kinshasa

Archdiocese of Kinshasa

Archidioecesis Kinshasana

Archidiocèse de Kinshasa
Catholic
St. Anne's Church in Kinshasa
Location
CountryDemocratic Republic of the Congo
TerritoryKinshasa and surrounding districts
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince of Kinshasa
Statistics
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2016)
11,323,000
6,378,000 (56.3%)
Parishes143
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteRoman Rite
Established22 November 1888
CathedralOur Lady of the Congo Cathedral
Secular priests238
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
ArchbishopFridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap
Auxiliary Bishops [1]
Bishops emeritusEdouard 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]

  1. ^ "Kinshasa (Archdiocese) - Bishops". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Cheney, David M. "Kinshasa (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 9 June 2018.