The Archdiocese of Bamako is the Metropolitan Archdiocesan See for the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

which covers all and only

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

archiepiscopal seat of the archbishop is the Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus, dedicated to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

, in national capital

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 134,982 Catholics (3.1% of 4,332,101 total) on 85,000 km² in 10 parishes and 1 mission with 31 priests (13 diocesan, 18 religious), 159 lay religious (42 brothers, 117 sisters) and 14 seminarians .

History

* 1868: Established as

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Sahara and Sudan * 1891: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Sahara and Sudan, hence entitled to a

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

* 19 July 1901: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of French Sudan (the French colonial name of Mali)/ Sahara nel Sudan Francese (Curiate Italian) / Saharen(sis) (Latin adjective), having lost territory to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa * 2 July 1921: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Bamako / Bamakoën(sis) (Latin adjective), having lost territory to establish Apostolic Vicariate of Ouagadougou (in Upper Volta, the French colonial name of Burkina Faso) * Lost territory repeatedly : on 1927.12.15 to establish Apostolic Prefecture of Bobo-Dioulasso, on 1937.03.09 to establish Apostolic Prefecture of N’Zérékoré, on 1942.06.09 to establish Apostolic Prefecture of Gao (now its suffragan) and on 1947.06.12 to establish Apostolic Prefecture of Kayes (now its suffragan) * 14 September 1955: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bamako / Bamakoën(sis) (Latin adjective) * Lost territory again on 1962.03.10 to establish as its suffragan Diocese of Ségou * It enjoyed a

papal visit Papal travel outside Rome has been historically rare, and voluntary travel of the pope was non-existent for the first 500 years. Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) undertook more pastoral trips than all his predecessors combined. Pope Francis (2013� ...

from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in January 1990.

Ecclesiastical province

The Metropolitan's Suffragan sees are the: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Kayes * Roman Catholic Diocese of Mopti * Roman Catholic Diocese of San * Roman Catholic Diocese of Ségou * Roman Catholic Diocese of Sikasso

Bishops

(all Roman Rite)

Apostolic Prefect of Sahara and Sudan

* Bishop Charles Lavigerie, M Afr (1868 – 13 March 1891 ''see below'') (Cardinal in 1882); this tenure as Apostolic Prefect is not listed in Catholic-hierarchy

Apostolic Vicars of Sahara and Sudan

* Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, M Afr (''see above'' 13 March 1891 – 26 November 1892) * Anatole-Joseph Toulotte, M Afr (26 November 1892 – 18 October 1897) * Augustin Prosper Hacquard, M Afr (19 January 1898 – no April 1901)

Apostolic Vicars of French Sudan

* Hippolyte Louis Bazin, M Afr (27 July 1901 – 30 November 1910) * Alexis Lemaître, M Afr (24 February 1911 – 28 July 1920), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Carthage, Tunisia

Apostolic Vicars of Bamako

* Emile-Fernand Sauvant, M Afr (8 July 1921 – 6 April 1928) * Paul-Marie Molin, M Afr (2 July 1928 – 21 January 1949) * Pierre Louis Leclerc, M Afr (25 December 1949 – 14 September 1955 ''see below'')

Archbishops of Bamako

* Pierre Louis Leclerc, M Afr (''see above'' 14 September 1955 – 10 March 1962), appointed Archbishop (personal title) of Ségou * Luc Auguste Sangaré (10 March 1962 – 11 February 1998) *

Jean Zerbo Jean Zerbo (born 27 December 1943) is a Malian Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Bamako since 1998. Pope Francis raised him to the rank of Cardinal on 28 June 2017. He is the first cardinal from Mali. Biography Jean Zerbo wa ...

(27 June 1998 – ) (Cardinal in 2017)

Auxiliary Bishop

(1988-1994), appointed Bishop of Mopti; later returned here as Archbishop; future Cardinal

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - data for all sections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamako, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Mali

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century A