{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Catholic hierarchy of South Africa is entirely Latin, composed of five

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 ...

s, each under a Metropolitan Archbishop, with a total of 20

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 ...

South African dioceses and an exempt pre-diocesan apostolic vicariate, as well as three suffragans (two dioceses, one apostolic vicariate) from below-mentioned neighbor states (fellow former British colonies).

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

has only one diocese and one apostolic vicariate, both suffragan of the South African Metropolitan Archbishop of Pretoria.

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

only has a single diocese, suffragan of the South African Metropolitan of Johannesburg.
Neither of those warranting a nation

Episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

, their tiny episcopates partakes in the transnational ''Episcopal Conference of South rnAfrica'', despite its one-nation name. None of them has an Eastern Catholic jurisdiction, only South Africa has an exempt

Military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

. There are no titular sees. All defunct jurisdictions have current Latin successor sees. There also is an Apostolic Nunciature to South Africa as papal diplomatic representation at embassy-level in the national capital

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. There formally are an Apostolic Nunciature to Botswana and an Apostolic Nunciature to Swaziland, but both are vested in the Apostolic Nunciature to South Africa (as are the Apostolic Nunciature to

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and to the kingdom of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

, which have their own Episcopal conferences).

Current Latin dioceses

Exempt (South Africa only)

Military Ordinariate of the South African Defence Force The Military Ordinariate of the South African (National) Defence Force (or of South Africa) is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church to provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the South African National Defence Force and ...

, vested in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of national capital Pretoria * Apostolic Vicariate of Ingwavuma (pre-diocesan)

Latin provinces (including Botswana and Swaziland)

Ecclesiastical Province of Bloemfontein

(South Africa only) * Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Bloemfontein The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bloemfontein ( la, Bloemfonteinen(sis)) is the Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan Episcopal See, See for the Ecclesiastical province of Bloemfontein in South Africa. History * 1951.01.11: Established as Metropol ...

** Diocese of Bethlehem **

Diocese of Keimoes-Upington In 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 provinces were administratively associate ...

** Diocese of Kimberley **

Diocese of Kroonstad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kroonstad ( la, Kroonstaden(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Kroonstad in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bloemfontein, Bloemfontein in South Africa. The last ordinary was Bish ...

Ecclesiastical Province of Cape Town

(South Africa only) * Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Town **

Roman Catholic Diocese of Aliwal The Roman Catholic Diocese of Aliwal ( la, Alivalen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Aliwal North (Joe Gqabi District Municipality) in the Ecclesiastical province of Eastern Cape in South Africa. History * June 12, 1923: Established as ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of De Aar The Roman Catholic Diocese of De Aar ( la, De Aaren(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of De Aar (Pixley ka Seme District Municipality) in the Ecclesiastical province of Cape Town in South Africa. History * March 24, 1953: Established as Ap ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Oudtshoorn The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oudtshoorn ( la, Oudtshoornen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Oudtshoorn in the Ecclesiastical province of Cape Town in South Africa. On 4 May 2020, Noel Andrew Rucastle, a priest of the Archdiocese of ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth The Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth ( la, Portus Elizabethen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Port Elizabeth in the Ecclesiastical province of Cape Town in South Africa. History On July 30, 1847, an ecclesiastical territory was ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Queenstown The Roman Catholic Diocese of Queenstown ( la, Queenstovnen(sis)) is a diocese located in the town of Queenstown in the Ecclesiastical province of Cape Town in South Africa. History * 1928: Established as Mission “sui iuris” of Queenstown ...

Ecclesiastical Province of Durban

(South Africa only) * Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Durban The Archdiocese of Durban evolved from the Vicariate Apostolic of Natal which was erected on 15 November 1850 and elevated to an archdiocese with the title Archdiocese of Durban on 11 January 1951. As of 2002, the Church census shows that there w ...

** Diocese of Dundee **

Diocese of Eshowe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Eshowe ( la, Eshoven(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Eshowe in the Ecclesiastical province of Durban in South Africa. History * August 27, 1921: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Zululand from the A ...

Diocese of Kokstad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kokstad ( la, Kokstaden(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Kokstad in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Durban, Durban in South Africa. History * April 8, 1935: Established as Apos ...

Diocese of Mariannhill The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mariannhill ( la, Collis Mariae/Mariannhillen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Mariannhill in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Durban, Durban in South Africa. History In 1880, ...

** Diocese of Umtata ** Diocese of Umzimkulu ** Apostolic Vicariate of Ingwavuma

Ecclesiastical Province of Johannesburg

''including all

'' * Metropolitan Archdiocese of Johannesburg **

Roman Catholic Diocese of Klerksdorp The Roman Catholic Diocese of Klerksdorp ( la, Dioecesis Klerkpolitana) is a diocese located in the city of Klerksdorp in the Ecclesiastical province of Johannesburg in South Africa. The second bishop of Klerksdorp was His Lordship, the Right ...

**''

Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(sis)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Eswatini. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Johannesburg in South Africa. Its ...

, covering all and only

'' **

Roman Catholic Diocese of Witbank The Roman Catholic Diocese of Witbank ( la, Vitbanken(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Witbank in the ecclesiastical province of Johannesburg in South Africa. History * June 12, 1923: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Lydenburg fro ...

Ecclesiastical Province of Pretoria

''including all

'' * Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pretoria **''

Roman Catholic Diocese of Francistown The Roman Catholic Diocese of Francistown ( la, Dioecesis Francistaunensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese located in the city of Francistown, Botswana, in the Ecclesiastical province of Pretoria in South Africa. History * 27 June 1998: Establishe ...

'' **''

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaborone The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaborone ( la, Dioecesis Gaboronensis) is a diocese located in the city of Gaborone, Botswana, in the Ecclesiastical province of Pretoria in South Africa. The motto of the diocese is ', which means "God is love." H ...

'' **

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pietersburg The Roman Catholic Diocese of Polokwane ( la, Polokwanen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Polokwane in the Ecclesiastical province of Pretoria in South Africa. History * December 22, 1910: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Norther ...

** Roman Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg **

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tzaneen The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tzaneen ( la, Tzaneen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Tzaneen in the Ecclesiastical province of Pretoria in South Africa. History * December 27, 1962: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Louis Trichard ...

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - data for all sections

*

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

* * Catholic dioceses Catholic dioceses Catholic dioceses