The Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat ( la, Eparchia Adigratensis) is a

Catholic 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 ...

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on th ...

located in the city of

Adigrat Adigrat (, ''ʿaddigrat'', also called ʿAddi Grat) is a city and separate woreda in Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude , with an elevation of above sea level and below a high ridge to the we ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It is 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 ...

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

History

On 25 March 1937,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

established the

Prefecture Apostolic 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 Tigray from the Vicariate Apostolic of Abyssinia.

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

elevated it as the Eparchy of Adigrat on 20 February 1961.

Ordinaries

*Bartolomeo Bechis, C.M. † (1937 - 1939 Resigned) *Salvatore Pane, C.M. † (10 Jun 1939 - 1951 Died) *Hailé Mariam Cahsai † (20 Feb 1961 - 24 Nov 1970 Died) *Sebhat-Leab Worku, S.D.B. † (12 Jun 1971 - 12 Oct 1984 Resigned) *

Kidane-Mariam Teklehaimanot Kidane-Mariam Teklehaimanot (10 September 1933, Alitena - 2 June 2009) was a bishop of the Ethiopian Catholic Church. He served as the Eparch of Adigrat, in the northern Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regio ...

† (12 Oct 1984 - 16 Nov 2001 Resigned) * Tesfasellassie Medhin (16 Nov 2001–present)

OVC Project

The ADCS (''Adigrat Diocese Catholic Secretary'') is responsible for an

OVC project Orphans and vulnerable children is a term used to identify the most at-risk group among young people in contexts such as humanitarian aid and education in developing countries. It often used relating to countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a hi ...

(OVC = "Orphans and Vulnerable Children") that grants micro-

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

s to disadvantaged young people in the

Tigray region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...

. In 2010–2017, the Student Initiative Rahel in Germany collected donations for the OVC project in Adigrat.

References

External links

*Official website
Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat
Ethiopian Catholic Church Catholic dioceses in Ethiopia Eastern Catholic dioceses Christian organizations established in 1937 Adigrat 1937 establishments in Ethiopia {{Ethiopia-stub