, local = ar, أبرشية تونس
french: Archidiocèse de Tunis
, image = , image_size = frameless , image_alt = , caption = , coat = , coat_size = , coat_alt = , coat_caption = , country = , territory = , province = , deaneries = , headquarters = , coordinates = , area_km2 = , area_sqmi = 62,632 , area_footnotes = , population = 10,955,000 , population_as_of = , catholics = (number unknown) , catholics_percent = 1 , parishes = , churches = , congregations = , schools = , members = , denomination =

Catholic 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 ...

, sui_iuris_church =

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

, rite =

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while di ...

, established = , cathedral =

St Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. After ...

, cocathedral = , patron = , patron_title = , priests = , pope = , bishop = Ilario Antoniazzi , bishop_title = Archbishop , coadjutor = , suffragans = , auxiliary_bishops = , apostolic_admin = , vicar_general = , episcopal_vicar = , judicial_vicar = , archdeacons = , emeritus_bishops = , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , website = , footnotes = The Archdiocese of Tunis is a

ecclesiastical territory or

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

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. It was founded on 10 November 1884 under the name "Archdiocese of Carthage", with territory corresponding to that of the then

French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (french: Protectorat français de Tunisie; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في تونس '), commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial Empire era, ...

. On 9 July 1964, it became a territorial prelature under the ecclesiastical title of Prelature of Tunis. It was made a diocese, keeping the name of Tunis, on 31 May 1995, and raised to the rank of archdiocese on 22 May 2010.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 759 The

Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul The Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul (french: Cathédrale Saint-Vincent-de-Paul de Tunis) is a Roman Catholic church located in Tunis, Tunisia. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul, patron saint of charity. It is the episcopal see ...

is 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 denominations ...

of the archdiocese of Tunis.

History

Background: ancient see of Carthage

The ancient see of Carthage, which is now a titular see,''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 860 was much less extensive than the archdiocese of Tunis. The territory of the archdiocese is coterminous with that of Tunisia, and thus corresponds approximately to that of the entire

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

s of

Africa Proconsularis Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(Zeugitana) and

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, t ...

. The ancient diocese was only one of many bishoprics within the former of these Roman provinces. On the other hand, the archdiocese does not enjoy the influence that the ancient diocese had over a large number of bishoprics in an area, encompassing not only today's Tunisia but also much of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Apostolic prefecture

In 1684,

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

established an

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 ...

at Tunis for

Ottoman Tunisia Ottoman Tunisia, refers to the episode of the Turkish presence in Ifriqiya during the course of three centuries from the 16th century until the 18th century, when Tunis was officially integrated into the Ottoman Empire as the Eyalet of Tunis. Ev ...

, which

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...

raised to the rank of an apostolic vicariate in 1843.

Apostolic administration

In 1881, Tunisia became a French protectorate, and in the same year

Charles Lavigerie Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie (31 October 1825 – 26 November 1892) was a French cardinal, archbishop of Carthage and Algiers and primate of Africa. He also founded the White Fathers. A Catholic priest who became a bishop in France, Laviger ...

, who was archbishop of Algiers, became

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of the vicariate of Tunis. In the following year, Lavigerie became a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

. He "saw himself as the reviver of the ancient Christian Church of Africa, the Church of Cyprian of Carthage", and, on 10 November 1884, was successful in his great ambition of having the

metropolitan see 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 t ...

of Carthage restored, with himself as its first archbishop. In 1053,

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

settled a dispute about primacy in the Roman province of Africa between the bishops of Carthage and

Gummi Gummies, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Gummi bears, Sour Patch Kids, and Jelly Babies are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. Gummies are availab ...

by declaring that, after the Bishop of Rome, the first archbishop and chief metropolitan of the whole of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

is the bishop of Carthage nor can he, for the benefit of any bishop in the whole of Africa, lose the privilege received once for all from the holy Roman and apostolic see, but he will hold it until the end of the world as long as the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is invoked there, whether Carthage lie desolate or whether it some day rise glorious again." In line with this,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

acknowledged the revived Archdiocese of Carthage as the primatial see of

and Lavigerie as primate. (The statement by Auguste Boudinhon that the acknowledgement was made in 1893, the year after Lavigerie's death, if not mistaken, is a reference to some renewed recognition.) From then until 1964, the ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides name ...

'' presented the see of Carthage as "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see of Proconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as archbishopric 10 November 1884". In July 1964, pressure from President

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of ...

's government of the

Republic of Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, which was in a position to close down all the Catholic churches in the country, forced the Holy See to abide by a ''

modus vivendi ''Modus vivendi'' (plural ''modi vivendi'') is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or " way of life". It often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In science, it is used to descr ...

'' bilateral agreement which regulated its legal status according to the 1959 Constitution of Tunisia. The ''modus vivendi'' gave the Catholic Church in Tunisia

legal personality Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or altogether the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural pers ...

and stated that it was legally represented by the prelate ''nullius'' of Tunis. The Holy See chose the prelate ''nullius'' but the government could object against the candidate before an appointment. The ''modus vivendi'' banned the Catholic Church from any political activity in Tunisia. This particular agreement was unofficially described as instead a ''modus non moriendi'' ("a way of not dying"). By it, all but five of the country's more than seventy churches were handed over to the state, including what had been the

of the archdiocese, while the state, for its part, promised that the buildings would be put only to use of public interest consonant with their previous function.

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 ...

suppressed the Archdiocese of Carthage and erected the Prelature ''nullius'' of Tunis, in his 1964 apostolic constitution ''Prudens Ecclesiae'', to conform to the bilateral agreement. From The Archdiocese of Carthage reverted to the status of a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. The residential archdiocese's territory became that of the Territorial Prelature of Tunis, established on 9 July 1964. The first archbishop of the titular see,

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was the most important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the persecutio ...

, was appointed on 4 July 1967. The ''Annuario Pontificio'' of that period described the titular archiepiscopal see of Carthage as "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see of Proconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as an archiepiscopal see on 10 November 1884, titular archbishopric 9 July 1964". The history of the territorial prelature was given as "founded 9 July 1964, previously an archbishopric under the name of Carthage founded 10 November 1884". What was the cathedral of the archdiocese of Carthage, the Saint Louis Cathedral (Carthage), is owned by the Tunisian state and is used for concerts.

Diocese

The prelature was elevated to an exempt diocese, directly subject to the Holy See, in 1995. From In 2010, it was promoted to an exempt archdiocese. From The summary of the history of the residential archdiocese of Tunis now given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' is: "archbishopric under the name of Carthage 10 November 1884; Prelature of Tunis 9 July 1964; diocese 31 May 1995; archbishopric 22 May 2010." The ancient see of Carthage, on the other hand, being no longer a residential bishopric, is listed by the

as a titular see in the same publication as distinct from the modern see of Tunis. As a summary history of the titular see of Carthage it states: "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see of Proconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as an archiepiscopal see on 10 November 1884, titular metropolitan see 9 July 1964".

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Tunis

* Fidèle Sutter,

OFMCap The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OF ...

(5 July 1844 – 28 June 1881) **

(''apostolic administrator'' 1881–1884) (Cardinal in 1882) ** Francesco Maria Rueda (Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar: 1882–1884) * Spiridion-Salvatore-Costantino Buhadgiar,

(12 August 1884 – 20 November 1884)

Archbishops of Carthage

* Cardinal

(10 November 1884 – 26 November 1892) * Barthélemy Clément Combes (16 June 1893 – 20 February 1922) ** Alexis Lemaître, M. Afr. (Coadjutor Archbishop: 28 July 1920 – 20 February 1922) * Alexis Lemaître, M. Afr. (20 February 1922 – 16 May 1939) ** Charles-Albert Gounot, CM (Coadjutor Archbishop: 14 Aug 1937 – 16 May 1939) * Charles-Albert Gounot, CM (16 May 1939 – 20 June 1953) * Maurice Perrin (29 October 1953 – 9 July 1964)

Territorial Prelates of Tunis

* Michel Callens, M. Afr. (9 Jan 1965 – 19 August 1990) *

Fouad Twal Fouad Twal ( ar, البطريرك فؤاد طوال; born 23 October 1940 in Madaba, Jordan) is a Jordanian Catholic prelate who served as Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem from 2008 to 2016. He has also served as the Grand Prior of the Equestria ...

(30 May 1992 – 31 May 1995)

Bishops of Tunis

(31 May 1995 – 8 September 2005); Archbishop (personal title) * Maroun Elias Nimeh Lahham (8 September 2005 – 22 May 2010)

Archbishops of Tunis

* Maroun Elias Nimeh Lahham (22 May 2010 – 19 January 2012) * Ilario Antoniazzi (21 February 2013 – )

Auxiliary bishops

* Félix-Jules-Xavier Jourdan de la Passardière, CO (1887 – February 1892) * Jules-Étienne Gazaniol (26 February 1892 – 3 December 1896) * Jean-Joseph Tournier (26 February 1892 – 28 June 1924) * Spiridion Poloméni (26 February 1892 – 12 September 1930) * Jean Saint-Pierre (28 May 1930 – August 1937) * Paul-Marie-Maurice Perrin (7 June 1947 – 29 October 1953)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* Nicolas Pierre Jean Lhernould, appointed Bishop of Constantine (-Hippone), Algeria in 2019

Footnotes

Sources

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