The Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan is a Roman Catholic Apostolic Prefecture (missionary jurisdiction) in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, the capital of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, not part of any ecclesiastical province. It has one church and four chapels situated in Baku, including its pro-cathedral the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Its legal status is ensured by the local law of the Azerbaijan Republic and is having a special status thanks to the Concordat signed by

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 ...

and former president

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Aze ...

Baku Azerbaijan Church of the Immaculate Conception

History

It was established on 11 October 2000 as Mission sui iuris of Baku, on territory split from the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus. In May 2002 it enjoyed a papal visit by

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 ...

and in October 2016 by

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. ...

. On 4 August 2011, it was promoted as Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan. As of 2015, the estimated total population in the prefecture is 9,867,250 and 560 are members of the Catholic Church.

Coat of arms

The proposal of coat of arms created by Marek Sobola, a heraldic artist from

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

in November 2017.

Incumbents

So far, there are three Monastic Orders: Salesians of Don Bosco (S.D.B.), Missionaries of Charity (C.M) (also known as Sisters of Mother Teresa) and Salesian Sisters (F.M.A.). There is no diocesan priest and only seven of the Salesian community are Catholic priests. * Friar Jozef Daniel Pravda, S.D.B. (11. 10. 2000 – 18. 7. 2003) * Friar Ján Čapla, S.D.B. (18. 7. 2003 – 11. 05. 2009) * Friar Vladimir Fekete, S.D.B. (11. 05. 2009 – 04. 08. ''2011'') ; ''Apostolic Prefects'' of Azerbaijan * Bishop Vladimir Fekete,

S.D.B. , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

(04. 08. 2011 – present; named a bishop, by

, while remaining Apostolic Prefect of Azerbaijan, on 12. 08. 2017; consecrated on 11 February 2018)

Source and External links

GigaCatholic, with incumbent biography links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baku, Apostolic Prefecture Christian organizations established in 2000 Apostolic prefectures Catholic Church in Azerbaijan

History

Coat of arms

Incumbents

See also

Source and External links

References