The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta () is an ecclesiastical

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

territory 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

The archdiocese was originally erected as the

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 ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

in 1834 by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory 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 June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

, and renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of

Western Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

in 1850 by Gregory's successor,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. On 1 September 1886, when the Catholic hierarchy was created in British India by 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 A ...

, the vicariate was elevated to the rank of

metropolitan archdiocese A metropolis, metropolitanate or metropolitan diocese 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. Eastern Ortho ...

and renamed as the "Archdiocese of Calcutta". Over the course of times the archdiocese was frequently divided and new metropolitan provinces were created:

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

and

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

. , the metropolitan province of Calcutta covers the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The

suffragan sees 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 by ...

are:

Asansol Asansol is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal. It is the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India by population. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accordi ...

Bagdogra Bagdogra is a settlement in the Naxalbari (community development block), Naxalbari Community development blocks in India, CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of We ...

Baruipur Baruipur () is a city and a municipality of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of Baruipur subdivision and is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). ...

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is ...

Krishnagar Krishnanagar (; ) is a city and a municipality. in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Nadia district. History Krishnanagar municipality was established in 1864 and is one of the oldest municipalities in Bengal. It is ...

and

Raiganj Raiganj (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on the bank of the Kulik river. This city is the headquarters of the Uttar Dinajpur district. The city situated in the narrow strip which joins the Northern and Southern p ...

. The archdiocese's

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 ...

, the seat of its archbishop, is the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary, commonly called the "Portuguese Church". Calcutta also houses the oldest Catholic church in the area, the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, in

Bandel Bandel is a city in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by ...

- a former Portuguese settlement - some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The current archbishop of Calcutta is Thomas D'Souza, having been appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 23 February 2012.(en) "Thomas D’Souza becomes Archbishop of Calcutta"
Vatican Radio
23 February 2012

Territory

The archdiocese of Calcutta currently covers the Districts of

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

, Hooghly,

Paschim Medinipur Paschim Medinipur (English: ''West Medinipur'', alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur a ...

Purba Medinipur East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...

and

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...

in the state of

List of Ordinaries of Calcutta

Apostolic vicars of Bengal

* 1834 - 1838 : Robert Saint–Leger * 1838 - 1840 :

Jean-Louis Taberd Jean-Louis Taberd (1794–1840) was a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and titular bishop of Isauropolis, '' in partibus infidelium''. Career Born in Saint-Étienne, Jean-Louis Taberd was ordained priest in Lyon in 18 ...

* 1840 - 1850 :

Patrick Joseph Carew Most Rev. Patrick Joseph Carew (1800 – 2 November 1855) was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta, Vicar Apostolic of Western Bengal."Past and Present Ordinaries"
, Archdiocese of Calcutta, ''Catholic Hierarchy''. Retrieved 2 February 2012

* 1850 - 1855 : Patrick Joseph Carew * 1855 - 1859 : Marc-Thomas Olliffe * 1858 - 1864 : ''Sede vacante'' (''Auguste Goiran, Administrator'') * 1864 - 1865 : Augustus van Heule * 1865 - 1867 : ''Sede vacante'' (''Honoré van der Stuyft,'' ''Administrator'') * 1867 - 1877 : Walter Herman Jacobus Steins * 1877 - 1886 : Paul François Marie Goethals

Archbishops of Calcutta

* 1886 - 1901 : Paul François Marie Goethals * 1902 - 1924 : Brice Meuleman * 1924 - 1960 : Ferdinand Perier * 1960 - 1962 : Vivian Anthony Dyer * 1962 - 1969 : Albert Vincent D'Souza * 1969 - 1986 : Lawrence Trevor Cardinal Picachy * 1986 - 2002 :

Henry Sebastian D'Souza Henry Sebastian D'Souza (20 January 1926 – 27 June 2016) was an Indian Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Igatpuri, D'Souza was ordained a priest in 1948. He became Bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in 1974 and was named coadjutor Archbishop of Calcutt ...

* 2002 - 2012 : Lucas Sirkar * 2012 - Pres : Thomas D'Souza

Saints and causes for canonisation

* St.

Teresa of Calcutta Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity and is a ...