The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka ( la, Archidioecesis Dhakensis) is the Latin, main
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
Metropolitan
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
, but no longer the only one. It still depends on the missionary
Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
.
The archdiocese's Marian
mother church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...
. As senior Metropolitan in Bangladesh, it is the principal
episcopal see
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
of that country. the Archbishop of Dhaka is Bejoy Nicephorus D'Cruze, formerly Bishop of Sylhet, having been appointed by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
in September 2020.
Ecclesiastical province
Its
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 sev ...
still has as
suffragan sees
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
on 12 February 1850.
It was promoted as Diocese of Eastern Bengal on 1 September 1886, and renamed as the Diocese of Dacca after its see in 1887.
On 25 May 1927 it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Chittagong, as its suffragan, but since 2017 itself a Metropolitan.
It was elevated to
Metropolitan Archdiocese
A metropolis religious jurisdiction, or a metropolitan archdiocese, is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces.
...
of Dacca by
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
on 15 July 1950,
On 17 January 1952 it lost territory to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Haflong.
It enjoyed its papal visit, from
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
, in November 1970.
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 ...
renamed it as the Archdiocese of Dhaka on 19 October 1982.
It enjoyed a second papal visit from Pope John Paul II in November 1986.
It lost territory on 15 May 1987 to establish the Diocese of Mymensingh and on 8 July 2011 again to establish the Diocese of Sylhet, as its suffragans.
Leadership
Ordinaries
Below is a list of individuals who have led the Archdiocese of Dhaka and its antecedent jurisdictions since its founding.
Peter Joseph Hurth
Peter Joseph Hurth, C.S.C., S.T.D. (30 March 1857 – 1 August 1935) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, a diocesan bishop in British India and the Philippines, and a titular archbishop.
Early years
Peter Jose ...
(1894–1909), appointed
Bishop of Nueva Segovia
The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It covers the province of Ilocos Sur, on the island of Luzon. The see of the archdiocese is the city of Vigan.Lawrence Leo Graner (1947–1950 ''see below'')
coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...
has the right of succession (''cum jure successionis'') upon the death, retirement or resignation of the diocesan bishop he is assisting. All coadjutor ordinaries eventually succeeded to become head of the Archdiocese of Dhaka or its antecedent jurisdictions.
* Timothy Joseph Crowley (1927–1929)
* Theotonius Amal Ganguly (1965–1967)
* Patrick D’Rozario (2010–2011)
As per 2014, it pastorally served 64,960 Catholics (0.3% of 23,539,280 total) on 12,000 km2 in 18 parishes and 14 missions with 115 priests (42 diocesan, 73 religious), 695 lay religious (132 brothers, 563 sisters) and 17 seminarians.