An apostolic vicariate is a territorial

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

under 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 ...

centered in

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

regions and countries where

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 ...

s or

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often a promotion for a former apostolic prefecture, while either may have started out as a mission ''sui iuris''. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more. The hope is that the region will generate sufficient numbers of Catholics for the Church to create a diocese one day. It is exempt under

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, directly subject to the missionary Dicastery for Evangelization of the Vatican in Rome. Like the stage of apostolic prefecture which often precedes it, the vicariate is not part of 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 ...

. It is intended to mature in developing Catholic members until it can be promoted to a (usually suffragan) diocese. The Eastern Catholic and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

counterpart is an (apostolic, patriarchal, or archiepiscopal) exarchate.

Institution

An apostolic vicariate is led by a vicar apostolic, who is usually a

. While such a territory can be classed as a

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...

, according to canon 371.1 of the Latin Code of Canon Law, a vicar apostolic's jurisdiction is an exercise of the jurisdiction of 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 ...

—the territory comes directly under the pope as "universal bishop", and the pope exercises this authority through a "vicar".Code of Canon Law, Book II, Canon 371§1
/ref> This is unlike the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, whose jurisdiction derives directly from his office. Like any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an apostolic vicariate may be administered by the bishop of a neighbouring diocese, or by a priest appointed transitionally as an

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 admi ...

. As in a regular diocese, the vicar apostolic may appoint priests as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

s exercising limited jurisdiction over the apostolic vicariate. Normally, a

is appointed to administer the apostolic vicariate. When someone who does not qualify or has not been ordained as bishop is appointed ''ad interim'', he may be styled Pro-vicar.Fanning, William. "Vicar Apostolic." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 8 March 2023 An apostolic vicariate is to be distinguished from an apostolic prefecture, a similar type of territory whose chief distinction from an apostolic vicariate is that its

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

is not a

, but a priest. The prefecture is not considered organised enough to be elevated to apostolic vicariate. The less developed instance is the mission sui iuris, which other than the ones mentioned before is not a particular church, although it shares some similarities to one; at its head, an ''ecclesiastical superior'' is named. The usual sequence of development is mission, apostolic prefecture, apostolic vicariate, and finally

(or even archdiocese). See also apostolic exarch for an Eastern Catholic counterpart. The apostolic vicariate is distinguished from a territorial abbacy (or " abbey nullius")—an area not a diocese but under the direction of the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

. Starting in 2019, new vicars apostolic, although they are (or become) bishops, are no longer assigned titular sees.

List

Current apostolic vicariates

Africa

* Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt * Apostolic Vicariate of Awasa, Ethiopia * Apostolic Vicariate of Benghazi, Libya * Apostolic Vicariate of Derna, Libya * Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom, Ghana * Apostolic Vicariate of Harar, Ethiopia * Apostolic Vicariate of Hosanna, Ethiopia * Apostolic Vicariate of Ingwavuma, South Africa * Apostolic Vicariate of Makokou in Gabon * Apostolic Vicariate of Meki, Ethiopia * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo,

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

* Apostolic Vicariate of Nekemte, Ethiopia * Apostolic Vicariate of Rodrigues, Mauritius * Apostolic Vicariate of Rundu, Namibia * Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo, Ethiopia * Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli, Libya

The Americas

Asia

Europe

* Apostolic Vicariate of Thessaloniki, Greece * Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul, Turkey

Historical apostolic vicariates

:(incomplete) Inactive apostolic vicariates (or former names, often promoted to diocese) are in ''italics''. Eastern Catholic (mostly Byzantine Rite) apostolic vicariates are in bold.

Africa

The Americas

Asia

Europe

* '' Apostolic Vicariate of Bosnia'', former Ottoman Empire * '' Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Constantinople'', former Ottoman Empire * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Gibraltar'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Herzegovina'', former Ottoman Empire * '' Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Macedonia'', former Ottoman Empire * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Marča'', Croatia * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Germany'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of England * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Scotland'' * '' Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Thrace'', former Ottoman Empire

Oceania

* '' Apostolic Vicariate of Alexishafen'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Central Oceania'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Fiji'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of the Gilbert Islands'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Marquesas Islands'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of New Pomerania'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Oriental Oceania'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Sandwich Islands'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Tahiti'' * '' Apostolic Vicariate of Western Oceania''

References

External links

List of current Apostolic Vicariates
at GCatholic.org (regularly refreshed) {{Catholicism