The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali ( la, Archidioecesis Kigaliensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or
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 ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
. It was erected from the
Archdiocese of Kabgayi by
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
on April 10, 1976, with the
suffragan sees
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 jurisdiction ...
of
Butare,
Byumba,
Cyangugu,
Gikongoro
Gikongoro is a city in Nyamagabe district, Southern Province, Rwanda.
It was previously part of Gikongoro Province, which has been disestablished. Gikongoro province was founded by the newly independent Rwandan state shortly after it gained fre ...
,
Kabgayi,
Kibungo,
Nyundo,
Ruhengeri. It is the only archdiocese within Rwanda.
The
motherchurch of the archdiocese and thus seat of its archbishop is
St. Michael's Cathedral.
Bishops
List of archbishops of Kigali
*
Vincent Nsengiyumva
Vincent Nsengiyumva (February 10, 1936 – June 7, 1994) was a Rwandan prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Kigali from 1976 until his death.
Born in Rwaza, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1966.
...
(1976–1994)
* (9 March 1996–19 November 2018)
*
Antoine Kambanda
Antoine Kambanda (born 10 November 1958) is a Rwandan prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Kigali since January 2019. He had been Bishop of Kibungo from 2013 to 2018.
Pope Francis raised him to the rank of cardinal on 28 ...
(19 November 2018 -
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
*
Célestin Hakizimana, appointed Bishop of Gikongoro in 2014
*
Anaclet Mwumvaneza, appointed Bishop of Nyundo in 2016
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Rwanda
The Catholic Church in Rwanda is part of the worldwide Catholic Church.
There are just over five million Catholics in Rwanda—about half of the total population. The country is divided into nine dioceses including one archdiocese. The Rwandan g ...
*
List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Rwanda
References
;Additional sources
*"Church Politics and the Genocide in Rwanda", Timothy Longman, ''Journal of Religion in Africa'', Vol. 31, Fasc. 2, Religion and War in the 1990s (May, 2001), pp. 163–186
External links
*
Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kigali
Kigali
Christian organizations established in 1976
Roman Catholic dioceses in Rwanda
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
1976 establishments in Rwanda