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 The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

. Although it usually has an (embryonal) see, it is often not called after such city but rather after a natural feature, or administrative geographical area, which may be a name in use by the local inhabitants, or one assigned by a colonial authority, depending on the circumstances under which the prefecture was established. If a prefecture grows and flourishes, it may be elevated to an

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

, headed by 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 an ...

, in the hope that with time the region will generate enough Catholics and stability for its Catholic institutions, to warrant being established as a diocese. Both these stages remain missionary, hence exempt, that is, directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, specifically the Dicastery for Evangelization, rather than, as a diocese normally would, belong to an

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. The full sequence of development is: independent mission, apostolic prefecture, apostolic vicariate, apostolic diocese; however steps may be skipped at the papal discretion, so the next steps may be bishopric or even archbishopric. The apostolic prefecture and the apostolic vicariate are to be distinguished from the territorial abbacy (formerly called an " abbey nullius").

History

During the last centuries of the second millennium it was the practice of the Holy See to govern either through prefects apostolic or apostolic vicariates, many territories where no dioceses with resident bishops were erected and where local circumstances, such as the character and customs of the people or hostility of civil powers, made it doubtful whether an episcopal see could be permanently established. The establishing of a prefecture apostolic in a place supposes that the Church has attained only a small development in the area. Fuller growth leads to the foundation of an apostolic vicariate as an intermediate stage to becoming a diocese.Papi, Hector. "Prefect Apostolic." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 22 February 2023

"An apostolic vicariate or apostolic prefecture is a certain portion of the people of God which has not yet been established as a diocese due to special circumstances and which, to be shepherded, is entrusted to an apostolic vicar or apostolic prefect who governs it in the name of the Supreme Pontiff." Can. 371 §1.

A prefect apostolic is of lower rank than a vicar apostolic. The prefect's powers are more limited and do not normally possess the episcopal character, as is ordinarily the case with a vicar apostolic. The duties of a prefect apostolic consist in directing the work of the mission entrusted to his care; his powers are in general those necessarily connected with the ordinary administration of such an office, for instance: the assigning of missionaries and the making of regulations for the good management of the affairs of the mission. Prefects apostolic govern independent territories and are subject only to the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. When a vicariate or a diocese extended over a very large territory in which the Catholic population was unequally distributed, the Holy See sometimes placed a portion of the territory in charge of a prefect apostolic; in which case the faculties of the prefect were more limited, and in the exercise of his office he was supervised by the vicar apostolic or the diocesan bishop. With a view to better protecting the authority of the local vicar apostolic or bishop, it was proposed in the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

to abolish prefects apostolic having jurisdiction over districts within a vicariate or diocese of the Latin Church, but the Council was interrupted and the practice continued until

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

abolished them within the Oriental Churches by a decree of Propaganda Fide on 12 September 1896, and established superiors with special dependence on the papal representatives of the areas concerned. In 1911 there were 66 prefectures apostolic: 5 in Europe; 17 in Asia; 3 in North America (e.g., the Yukon); 11 in South America; 23 in Africa and 7 in Oceania. As of 2024, the prefectures apostolic were only 38, of which the vast majority (28) were in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(many vacant), where development of the Catholic Church, including that of the prefectures, had long been hindered by actions of the government. The 10 other prefectures included a newly created one for Azerbaijan, 4 more in Asia, 3 in Africa, 1 in the Americas and 1 in Oceania.

Current apostolic prefectures

In China

* Ankang 安康 (Hinganfu) /

Ankang Ankang ( zh , c = 安康 , p = Ānkāng ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the s ...

* Baojing 保靖 / Paoking * Guilin 桂林 / Kweilin * Hainan 海南 / Hainan * Haizhou 海州 / Haichow * Jiamusi 佳木斯 / Kiamusze * Jian′ou 建甌 / Kienow * Lingling 零岭 / Yongzhou 永州 / Yungchow * Linqing 臨清 / Lintsing * Lintong 臨潼 / Lintung * Lixian 澧縣 / Lizhou 澧州 / Lichow * Qiqihar 齊齊哈爾 / Tsitsibar * Shaowu 邵武 / * Shashi 沙市 / Shasi * Shiqian 石阡 / Shihtsien * Suixian 隨縣 / Suihsien * Tongzhou 同州 / Tungchow * Tunxi 屯溪 / Tunki * Weihai(wei) 威海衛 / Weihaiwei * Xiangtan 湘潭 / Siangtan * Xining 西寧 / Sining * Xinjiang 新絳 / Jiangzhou 絳州 / Kiangchow * Xinjiang-Urumqi 新疆-烏魯木齊 / Sinkiang * Xinxiang 新鄉 / Sinsiang * Yangzhou 揚州 / Yangchow * Yixian 易縣 / Yihsien * Yueyang 岳陽 / Yuezhou 岳州 / Yochow * Zhaotong 昭通 / Chaotung

Elsewhere in Eurasia

* Battambang () in Cambodia * Kampong Cham () in Cambodia *

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

in Mongolia * Yuzhno Sakhalinsk in Asian Russia and Japan *

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, in and covering

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

(raised to the level of prefecture on 4 August 2011; had been Mission sui iuris of Baku from 11 October 2006)

Americas

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

(U.K.)

Oceania

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

, not exempt but in the

of Agana.

Africa

Misurata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near C ...

, in Libya * Robe, in Ethiopia"Robe Apostolic Prefecture", ''Agenzia Fides'', 1 April 2022
/ref> *

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

Former apostolic prefectures

:''(very incomplete) Most former apostolic prefectures were promoted to

territorial prelature A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

(under a

) or (mostly later) to a

or even an

archdiocese 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 associated ...

(under a residential bishop), but some ceased to exist (at least under their name or extent) being suppressed or sometimes dismembered.

Europe

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

(promoted Diocese of Reykjavík) * Rhodes and adjacent islands (insular Greece) * Apostolic Prefecture of Scotland (UK) *Luxembourg (promoted Apostolic Vicariate, now Archdiocese )

Germany

* Lausitz (Lusatia) *

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Asia

China

* Apostolic Prefecture of Yachow * Yiduxian 益都縣 / Iduhsien

Indian subcontinent

* French Colonies in India (then French India) * Jubbulpore *

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

(Diocese of Tiruchirapalli)

Malay
Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

* Bangka and Biliton (now Diocese of Pangkal-Pinang) * Brunei (now Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei) * Labuan e Borneo, then Northern Borneo (now Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu) * Sarawak (now Archdiocese of Kuching) * Kalinga and Apayao (now Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk) * Mindoro (now Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan) * Ifugao and Mountain Province (now Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe) * Palawan (now Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa) * Sulu (now Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo)

Americas

North and Central America

* Îles de la Terre Ferme (now Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre) *

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

South America

* Alto Solimões (promoted diocese) * Apostolic Prefecture of Araucanía *

Tefé Tefé, known in early accounts as Teffé, is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas, northern Brazil. History As early as 1620 the Portuguese Carmelites could already boast of converts amo ...

(now Territorial Prelature) * Tumaco

Oceania

* German Solomon Islands * Northern Solomon Islands * South Seas Islands

Africa and Indian Ocean

North Africa

* Bahr el-Ghazal - part of the Diocese of Wau * Delta of the Nile (Egypt) * Equatorial Nile * Sahara and Sudan

Horn of Africa

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

Indian Ocean islands

* Islands of the Indian Ocean, then Bourbon (now Diocese of Saint-Denis de La Réunion)

West Africa

* Bobo-Dioulasso (promoted Archdiocese, in Burkina Faso) * Katanga (then Belgian Congo) * Apostolic Prefecture of Kayes (now Diocese in Mali) * Mupoi (Diocese of Tombura-Yambio) * N’Zérékoré * Oubangui Chari (French colonial name of Central African Republic; now Metropolitan of Bangui)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - List of Current Apostolic Prefectures; and many other pages
{{Catholicism Catholic ecclesiastical titles

History

Current apostolic prefectures

In China

Elsewhere in Eurasia

Americas

Oceania

Africa

Former apostolic prefectures

Europe

Germany

Asia

China

Indian subcontinent

Malay Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

Americas

North and Central America

South America

Oceania

Africa and Indian Ocean

North Africa

Horn of Africa

Indian Ocean islands

West Africa

See also

References

Sources and external links

Malay
Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...