The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nampula () is an archbishopric and the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

see for one of the three

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 ...

s in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

in Africa, yet still 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 ...

is the Catedral Metropolitana de Nossa Senhora de Fátima, dedicated to the diocesan

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

Our Lady of Fatima Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...

, in

Nampula Nampula is the capital city of Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique. With a population of 743,125 (2017 census), it is the third-largest city in Mozambique after Maputo and Matola. The city is located in the interior of Nampula Province, appro ...

History

The Diocese of Nampula was established on 4 September 1940 by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Sollemnibus Conventionibus'', on territory split off from the Territorial Prelature of Mozambique, which was simultaneously promoted and became its metropolitan as the

Archdiocese of Lourenço Marques 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 ...

(now Maputo). Nampula lost land on 5 April 1957, to establish the Diocese of Porto Amélia (now its suffragan Pemba) and on 21 July 1963, to establish the Diocese of Vila Cabral (now its suffragan Lichinga) On 4 June 1984 it was promoted to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nampula by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's papal bull, ''Quo efficacius''; he made a papal visit in September 1988. Nampula lost territory on 11 October 1991, to establish the

Diocese of Nacala 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 ...

as its suffragan.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 485,813 Catholics (13.7% of 3,547,000 total) on 51,000 km in 40 parishes and a mission with 75 priests (36 diocesan, 39 religious), 270 lay religious (96 brothers, 174 sisters) and 19 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

Its

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 ...

sees were all daughters (comment refers to three dioceses in this province before Gurué was shifted here from another province) : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Alto Molócuè Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurué Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lichinga Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

(formerly Vila Cabral) *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nacala Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pemba The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pemba () is a diocese located in the city of Pemba, Mozambique, Pemba in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nampula, Nampula in Mozambique. History * April 5, 1957: Established as Diocese ...

(formerly Porto Amélia),

Episcopal 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) ...

) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Nampula'' *

Teófilo José Pereira de Andrade Teófilo is a given name. People with the name include: *Teófilo Barrios (born 1964), Paraguayan football (soccer) defender *Teófilo Benito (1966–2004), Spanish middle-distance runner *Teófilo Borunda (1912–2001), Mexican politician *Teófil ...

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the t ...

(O.F.M.) (born Portugal) (1941.05.12 – retired 1951.02.17), emeritus as

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 ...

Urusi Urusi was a civitas and ancient bishopric, episcopal see of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis in present-day Tunisia. The town flourished from 30BC until 640AD and has been tentatively identified with ruins at Henchir Soudga, () in Siliana ...

(1951.02.17 – death 1954.10.25) * Manuel de Medeiros Guerreiro (?Portuguese) (1951.03.02 – retired 1966.11.30), previously Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé de Meliapor The Diocese of Saint Thomas of Mylapore, presently in Chennai, Tamil Nadu ( Portuguese ''São Tomé de Meliapor''; Latin ''Sancti Thomae de Meliapor''), was a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in India. It ...

(

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 ...

) (1937.04.10 – 1951.03.02); emeritus as Titular Bishop of Præcausa (1966.11.30 – resigned 1971.01.27), died 1978 *

Manuel Vieira Pinto Manuel da Silva Vieira Pinto (8 December 1923 – 30 April 2020) was a Portuguese-born prelate of the Catholic Church in Mozambique. Pinto was born in São Pedro de Aboim, Amarante, Portugal, and was ordained a priest on 7 August 1949. He was ap ...

(1967.04.21 – 1984.06.04 ''see below''), President of Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (1975 – 1976) ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Nampula'' *

(''see above'' 1984.06.04 – retired 2000.11.16), also

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 ...

of the suffragan Diocese of Pemba (Mozambique) (1992.12.12 – 1998.01.18) **

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Germano Grachane,

Lazarists The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

(C.M.) (1990.01.22 – 1991.10.11),

of Thunusuda (1990.01.22 – 1991.10.11); later first bishop of suffragan daughter see

Nacala Nacala (also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto) is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves a ...

(Mozambique) (1991.10.11 – ...) * Tomé Makhweliha,

Dehonians The Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (), also called the Dehonians, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church founded in northern France in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Pi ...

(S.C.I.) (2000.11.16 - retired 2016.07.25), also President of Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (2006 – 2009); previously Bishop of

Pemba Pemba may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Pemba Island, in Tanzania * Pemba, Mozambique, the capital of Cabo Delgado Province * Pemba District, a district of Zambia * Pemba, Zambia Pemba is a small town (population about 4,000) located in Pemba ...

(Mozambique) (1997.10.24 – 2000.11.16) **''

Ernesto Maguengue Ernesto Maguengue (born 2 August 1964) is a Mozambican Roman Catholic prelate, who is the Auxiliary Bishop of Nampula. He was ordained as a priest on 14 May 1989 in Maputo. On 24 June 2004 he was appointed Bishop of Pemba, which came into effect ...

(2016.07.25 - ...), while

Furnos Minor Furnos was the name of two towns and bishoprics in the Roman province of Proconsular Africa (in present-day Tunisia). They are referred to as Furnos Maior and Furnos Minor, as now as separate Latin Catholic titular sees. Locations * The ruins ...

(2014.08.06 – ...) as

of Nampula (2014.08.06 – ...); previously Bishop of the

(Mozambique) (2004.06.24 – 2012.10.27) * Inácio Saure, (

I.M.C. The Institute of Consolata Missionaries (), commonly called the Consolata Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious congregation of Pontifical Right with branches for both men and women. Its members add the nominal I.M.C. after their ...

) (2017.04.11 – ...), previously Bishop of the

Tete Tete may refer to: * Tete, Mozambique, a city in Mozambique *Tété (born 1975), a French musician *Tetê (born 2000), a Brazilian footballer *Tete Montoliu (1933–1997), Spanish jazz pianist **''Tete!'', an album by Tete Montoliu *Tete Province ...

(Mozambique) (2011.04.12 – 2017.04.11).

References

Sources and external links