The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mweka ( la, Mvekaën(sis)) is a Latin
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
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, pro ...
in the
Ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...
of The Metropolitan of
Kananga
Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital city of the Kasai-Central, Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï-Occidental , Kasaï-Occidental Province. It is ...
in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, it depends on the missionary
Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
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 ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
.
Its
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
episcopal see is the Cathédrale Saint-Martin, in the city of
Mweka in
Kasai Province
Kasai or Kasaï may refer to:
Places
Congo
* Congo-Kasaï, one of the four large provinces of Belgian Congo
* Kasaï District, in the Kasai-Occidental province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Kasai Province, one of the provinces ...
.
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 346,580 Catholics (41.2% of 840,645 total) on 21,700 km² in 14 parishes with 43 priests (32 diocesan, 11 religious), 34 lay religious (21 brothers, 13 sisters) and 35 seminarians.
History
* Established on 1953.03.24 as
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 ...
of Mweka, on territory split off from the then
Apostolic Vicariate of Luluabourg
* Promoted on September 29, 1964 as Diocese of Mweka.
Ordinaries
(all
Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
)
;''Apostolic Prefects of Mweka''
*
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 ...
Bernard Mels,
Scheutists
The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...
(C.I.C.M.), while
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
Belali (1949.03.10 – 1959.11.10) & Apostolic Vicar of
Luluabourg (Congo-Kinshasa) (1949.03.10 – 1959.11.10), later promoted that see's first Metropolitan Archbishop (1959.11.10 – 1967.09.26), then Archbishop-Bishop of
Lwiza (Congo-Kinshasa) (1967.09.26 – retired 1970.10.03), emeritate as
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
Pulcheriopolis
Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier.
Berat is located in th ...
(1970.10.03 – resigned 1986.05.17), died 1992
* Marcel Evariste van Rengen,
Josephites of Belgium
The Institute of the Josephites of Belgium ( la, Institutum Iosephitarum Gerardimontensium), commonly called Josephites is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men devoted to the Christian education of the youth ...
(C.I.) (1957 – 1964.09.29 ''see below'')
;''Suffragan Bishops of Mweka''
*
Marcel Evariste van Rengen,
C.I. (''see above'' 1964.09.29 – death 1988.03.15)
*
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 ...
Emery Kabongo Kanundowi (1988 – 1989.01.19), while
Archbishop-Bishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...
of
Luebo
Luebo or Lwebo is a town (officially a commune) of Kasai Province in south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also the seat of the territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to ...
(Congo-Kinshasa) (1987.12.10 – retired 2003.08.14); previously Second Private Secretary of the Pope (1982 – 1987.12.10)
*
Gérard Mulumba Kalemba
Gérard Mulumba Kalemba (8 July 1937 – 15 April 2020) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese prelate of the Catholic Church.
Born in Kananga, Mulumba Kalemba was ordained to the priesthood in 1967. He was appointed bishop of Catholic ...
(1989.01.19 - 2017.02.18), died April 15, 2020
* Oscar Nkolo Kanowa,
Scheutists
The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...
(C.I.C.M.) (2017.02.18 – ...)
See also
*
*
Roman Catholicism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Catholicism has a major presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Of a population of 70,916,439, there are about 35 million Catholics i ...
Sources and external links
GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links and Google satellite photo
Roman Catholic dioceses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Christian organizations established in 1953
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
1953 establishments in the Belgian Congo
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Kananga
{{DRCongo-RC-diocese-stub