The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kwito-Bié () is a
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 ...
located in
Bié Province
Bié is a province of Angola located on the Bié Plateau in central part of country. Its capital is Kuito, which was called Silva Porto until independence from Portugal in 1975. The province has an area of and a population of 1,455,255 in 2014 ...
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 ...
of
Huambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English language, English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous List of cities and towns in Angola, city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a pop ...
in
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
. The cathedral is located in the city of
Cuito.
History
The diocese was established on 4 September 1940 as the Diocese of Silva Porto on territory separated from the
Diocese of São Paulo de Loanda. Initially, the diocese was 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 ...
of the
. The diocese lost territory on 25 November 1957 to establish the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Malanje and on 1 July 1963 to establish the
Diocese of Luso.
On 3 February 1977, the diocese changed suffragans to the
Archdiocese of Huambo. On 16 May 1979, it was renamed as the Diocese of Kwito-Bié.
Special churches
The Cathedral of the diocese is Sé Catedral de São Lourenço in Cuito, Bié Province.
Bishops
Ordinaries, in reverse chronological order
Bishops of Kwito-Bié
* Bishop-elect Vicente Sanombo (28 March 2024 – )
* Bishop
José Nambi
José Nambi (5 June 1949 – 31 October 2022) was an Angolan Roman Catholic prelate.
Nambi was born in Angola and ordained to the priesthood in 1975. He served as coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in ...
(15 January 1997 – 31 October 2022)
* Bishop
Pedro Luís António (15 June 1979 – 15 January 1997)
* Bishop
Manuel António Pires (16 May 1979 – 15 June 1979); ''see below''
Bishops of Silva Porto
* Bishop Manuel António Pires (23 September 1958 – 16 May 1979); ''see above''
* Bishop
Antonio Ildefonse dos Santos Silva,
O.S.B. (3 November 1941 – 17 August 1958)
Coadjutor bishops
*
Manuel António Pires (1955-1958)
*
José Nambi
José Nambi (5 June 1949 – 31 October 2022) was an Angolan Roman Catholic prelate.
Nambi was born in Angola and ordained to the priesthood in 1975. He served as coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in ...
(1995-1997)
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Angola
The Catholic Church in Angola is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Catholicism was introduced to Angola by the Portuguese explorers since 1491 when the first missionaries arrived.
Many of ...
Sources
GCatholic.org*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Kwito-Bie
Kwito-Bie
Christian organizations established in 1940
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
Kwito-Bie, Roman Catholic Diocese of