The Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt, or in full - of Alexandria of Egypt-Heliopolis-Port Said ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Alexandrinus) is the
Roman Catholic
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 lette ...
Apostolic vicariate (missionary ordinariate) in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, named after its cathedral see in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, a port city and former Catholic patriarchate.
It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any
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 ...
.
Special Churches
* the
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 in Alexandria,
Saint Catherine.
* the
co-cathedral and former cathedral
Notre-Dame of Heliopolis, in Egypt's metropolitan national capital
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
's suburb Heliopolis, formerly seat of a separate apostolic vicariate Heliopolis in northern Egypt
* the co-cathedral and former cathedral Our Lady and St. Michael, in
Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
, formerly seat of a separate apostolic vicariate in southern Egypt
*
Basilica of St Therese of the Child Jesus, Cairo
The Basilica of St Therese of the Child Jesus ( ar, بازيليك القديسة تريز الطفل يسوع هي) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Cairo, Egypt, dedicated to Thérèse of Lisieux. The foundation stone of the church was laid ...
, a
minor basilica
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...
.
History
* Established on May 18, 1839 as Apostolic Vicariate of Egypt and
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
, on territory split off from the
Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo
The Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo (in Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Aleppensis) is an apostolic vicariate (Latin pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, entitled to a titular bishop) and is immediately subject to the ...
in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, then covering vast territory in Africa and Arabia
* Lost territory to establish the
Apostolic Prefecture of Jedda in 1840 and again on 1846.04.03 to establish the
Apostolic Vicariate of Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following ...
* Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Egypt in 1851
* Lost territory on several occasions to establish
**
Coptic Catholic Diocese of Iskanderiya
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet, t ...
(Alexandria) in 1895
**
Apostolic Prefecture of the Nile Delta
The Apostolic Vicariate of Heliopolis (of Egypt) (originally of the Nile Delta) was a Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Latin Church in northern Egypt.
It was exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any eccle ...
on 1886.01.25
**
Apostolic Prefecture of Eritrea
The Apostolic Vicariate of Asmara was a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction in Eritrea. Centered in Asmara it was at first the Apostolic Prefecture of Eritrea and then the Apostolic Vicariate of Eritrea.
Foundation and development
On 13 Septe ...
on 1894.09.13
** the
Coptic Catholic Patriarchal See of Alexandria
The Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria is the Patriarchal and only Metropolitan see of the head of the Eastern ''sui iuris'' Coptic Catholic Church, a particular Church in the Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, which foll ...
,
Coptic Catholic Diocese of Luqsor
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet, t ...
and
Coptic Catholic Diocese of Minya
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet, t ...
on 1895.11.26
**
Apostolic Vicariate of Canal of Suez
The Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt, or in full - of Alexandria of Egypt-Heliopolis-Port Said ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Alexandrinus) is the Roman Catholic Apostolic vicariate (missionary ordinariate) in Egypt, named after its ca ...
on 1926.07.12
It was on 27 January 1951 as Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
visited in February 2000,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
in April 2017.
United titles
Its full title reflects the (re)absorption of two former
Latin Church
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
missionary circonscriptions in Egypt :
* the northern
Apostolic Vicariate of Heliopolis in Egypt
The Apostolic Vicariate of Heliopolis (of Egypt) (originally of the Nile Delta) was a Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Latin Church in northern Egypt.
It was exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any eccle ...
(Eliopoli di Egitto) (since November 30, 1987), which had a see in the Cairo suburb it's named after
* the southern
Apostolic Vicariate of Port-Said
The Apostolic Vicariate of Port-Said (originally of the Suez Canal) was a Latin Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction in eastern Egypt.
It was exempt, i.e., directly dependent on the Holy See, and not part of any ecclesiastical province.
...
(since November 30, 1987), which had a see in the port city on the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
Episcopal incumbents
All
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
s were Latin Church
titular
Titular may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title
Religion
* Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome
** Titular bisho ...
bishops and members of religious orders
; Apostolic Vicars of Egypt
Until 1921, the Apostolic Vicar was also the Holy See's
Apostolic Delegate
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...
to Egypt and Arabia.
* Bishop Perpetuo Guasco da Solero,
O.F.M. Obs. (1839.06.07 – 1859.08.02)
* Bishop
Paškal Vuičić,
O.F.M. Obs. (1860.09.28 – 1866.08.06)
* Archbishop
Ljudevit Ćurčija, (O.F.M.) (1866.07.27 – 1881.05.01)
* Archbishop Anacleto Chicaro, O.F.M. (1881.05.12 – 1888.10.05)
* Archbishop Aurelio Briante, O.F.M. (1904.07.23 – 1921.02)
* Bishop
Félix Couturier
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
,
O.P. (1919.07.03 – 1921.06.28), who became Bishop of Alexandria in Ontario (Canada) (1921.06.28 – 1941.07.27)
* Bishop
Igino Nuti,
O.F.M. (1921.12.20 – 1945, followed by a four-year vacancy)
; Apostolic Vicars of Alexandria of Egypt
* Jean de Capistran Aimé Cayer, O.F.M. (26 May 1949 – 13 April 1978)
* Egidio Sampieri, O.F.M. (29 April 1978 – 26 August 2000)
* Giuseppe Bausardo,
S.D.B. (24 February 2001 – 29 October 2008)
*
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 ...
Gennaro De Martino (29 October 2008 – 1 September 2009)
*
Adel Zaky
Adel Zaky, Order of Friars Minor, O.F.M. (1 December 1947 – 21 July 2019) was an Egyptian people, Egyptian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt, Apostolic Vicar of Alexandria ...
, O.F.M. (1 September 2009 – 21 July 2019)
*
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 ...
Elia Eskandr Abd Elmalak, O.F.M. (29 September 2019 - 6 August 2020)
* Bishop-elect
Claudio Lurati, M.C.C.J. (6 August 2020 -)
See also
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Egypt
The Catholic Church in Egypt is presently composed of an exempt Latin missionary jurisdiction and 14 Eastern Catholic (arch)eparchies (mainly the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate's province), but also yielded over 90 titular sees.
Current dioceses ...
*
Catholic Church in Egypt
The Catholic Church in Egypt is considerably small as compared to the rest of the Christian population in Egypt, which is a significant minority among (mainly Sunni) Muslims. The Catholic population in Egypt is said to have begun during the Briti ...
References
External links
GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links
Catholic-Hierarchy entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandria of Egypt, Apostolic Vicariate
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
Roman Catholic dioceses in Egypt
Religious organizations established in 1839
Christianity in Alexandria
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century
1839 establishments in Egypt