The Roman Catholic Diocese of Morondava () is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

Latin

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 ...

in the

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 ...

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...

(one of five in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

), yet depends on the missionary

Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congrega ...

. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

episcopal see is the (Marian) Cathédrale Maria Manjaka Namahora, in the city of

Morondava Morondava (, from "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morondava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510. Population The predominant ...

Toliara province The Toliara Province (formerly Toliary or Tuléar) is a former province of Madagascar with an area of . It had a population of 2,229,550 (July, 2001). Its capital was Toliara. Near Toliara was the " spiny forest". Toliara Province bordered the foll ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 54,895 Catholics (9.8% of 560,000 total) on 45,200 km² in 17 parishes and 26 missions with 42 priests (8 diocesan, 34 religious), 156 lay religious (39 brothers, 117 sisters) and 20 seminarians.

History

* Established on January 8, 1938 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 Morondava, on territories split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Fianarantsoa, Apostolic Vicariate of Majunga and Apostolic Vicariate of Tananarive * On 1939.03.15 it gained territory from Mission sui juris of Miarinarivo. * Promoted on September 14, 1955 as Diocese of Morondava * Lost territories, twice : on 1960.04.25 to establish the Diocese of Morombe and on 2017.02.08 (with two other sees) to establish Diocese of Maintirano.

Ordinaries

(all

Roman rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

, so far -mostly European missionary- members of Latin congregations) ;Apostolic Prefects of Morondava * Father Joseph-Paul Futy, MS (born France) (1938 – 1947.02.13); later

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 ...

of Aspendus (1947.02.13 – death 1956.08.12) as

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

Antsirabe Antsirabe () also known as Ville d'eau is the list of cities in Madagascar, third largest city in Madagascar and the capital of the Vakinankaratra region, with a population of 265,018 in 2014. In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively ...

(Madagascar) (1947.02.13 – retired 1955.03) * Father Stefano Garon, MS (1947.07.04 – death 1954) * Father Paul J. Girouard, MS (born USA) (1954 – 1955.09.14 ''see below''). ; Suffragan Bishops of Morondava * Paul J. Girouard, MS (''see above'' 1955.09.14 – death 1964.02.18) * Bernard Charles Ratsimamotoana, MS (1964.09.29 – retired 1998.08.08), died 2005 * Donald Joseph Leo Pelletier, MS (born USA) (1999.10.15 - retired 2010.02.26) * Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina, OCD (2010.02.26 - ...), also Vice-President of Episcopal Conference of Madagascar (2012? – ...).

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org

Roman Catholic dioceses in Madagascar Christian organizations established in 1938 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1938 establishments in Madagascar Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Toliara {{Africa-RC-diocese-stub

Statistics

History

Ordinaries

See also

Sources and external links