The Archdiocese of Conakry () is a

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 ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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 ...

of the Catholic Church in Guinea. It is the metropolitan see for its

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 ...

which covers all

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. It depends upon the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

. The archbishop's

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

is within the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie, in the national capital

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

Statistics

As of 2024, it pastorally served 170,000 Catholics (3.2% of 5,211,530 total) on 88,664 km² in 32 parishes and one mission with 61 priests (47 diocesan, 14 religious), 86 lay religious (19 brothers, 67 sisters) and 27 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

All other dioceses in Guinea are suffragan sees of Conakry: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Boké * Roman Catholic Diocese of Guéckédou * Roman Catholic Diocese of Kankan * Roman Catholic Diocese of N’Zérékoré

History

On 18 October 1897, the

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 ...

French Guinea French Guinea () was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, within the same borders as ...

was established on French colonial territories canonically split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Senegambia (based in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

) and the Apostolic Vicariate of Sierra Leone (in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

). On 18 April 1920, it became 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 ...

of French Guinea. On 12 May 1949, it was renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of Conakry, having lost territory to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Kankan, now one of its suffragan dioceses. On 14 September 1955, was elevated to a residential see, named the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Conakry. On 22 February 2024, it lost territory to establish the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boké. It enjoyed a Papal visit 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 ...

in February 1992.

Ordinaries

;'' Prefect Apostolic of French Guinea'' * Raymond-René Lerouge, Holy Ghost Fathers (C.S.Sp.) (9 March 1911 – 22 April 1920 ''see below'') ;'' Vicar Apostolic of French Guinea'' * Raymond-René Lerouge, C.S.Sp. (''see above'' 22 April 1920 – 12 May 1949 ''see below''),

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 Selge (18 April 1920 – death 2 July 1949) ;'' Vicars Apostolic of Conakry'' * Raymond-René Lerouge, C.S.Sp. (''see above'' 12 May 1949 – death 2 July 1949) * Michel-Jules-Joseph-Marie Bernard, C.S.Sp.(12 March 1950 – 18 July 1954),

of Ægeæ (12 March 1950 – 14 September); later Vicar Apostolic of Brazzaville (Congo-Brazzaville) (18 July 1954 – 14 September 1955), promoted first Metropolitan Archbishop of Brazzaville (14 September 1955 – 2 May 1964), later

Titular Archbishop 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 Aræ in Mauretania (2 May 1964 – 15 January 1966), Archbishop-Bishop of

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

(

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

) (15 January 1966 – 21 December 1973) * Gérard-Paul-Louis-Marie de Milleville, C.S.Sp. (8 May 1955 – 14 September 1955 ''see below''),

of Dalisandus in Pamphylia (8 May 1955 – 14 September 1955) ;'' Metropolitan Archbishops of Conakry'' * Gérard-Paul-Louis-Marie de Milleville, C.S.Sp. (''see above'' 14 September 1955 – 10 March 1962), also Apostolic Administrator of Kankan (Guinea) (1957 – 14 December 1958); later

of Gabala (10 March 1962 – death 12 January 2007) as

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. ...

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

(

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) (1967 – 1984),

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 ...

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

(

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

, French) (29 January 1968 – 5 October 1970) * Raymond-Maria Tchidimbo, C.S.Sp. (10 March 1962 – retired 13 August 1979), President of Episcopal Conference of the Guinea (1970 – 1979); died 2011. *

Robert Sarah Robert Sarah (; born 15 June 1945) is a Guinean Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 23 November 2014 to 20 February 2021. He previously served as secretary of the ...

(13 August 1979 – 1 October 2001), appointed Secretary of the

(elevated to Cardinal in 2010) * Vincent Coulibaly (6 May 2003 to date)

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo

References