The Archdiocese of Freetown (''Archidioecesis Liberae Urbis'') is a

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 ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese 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 associa ...

of the

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 ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. Its episcopal see is the city of

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

, the capital and most populous city of the African country. It is a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

with three suffragan dioceses in its

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

History

The territory was established as the Vicariate Apostolic of Sierra Leone, on 13 April 1858 by Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, taking territory from the Vicariate Apostolic of Two Guineas and Senegambia. It itself lost territory in 1897 to the Prefecture Apostolic of Guinea Francese and in 1903 to the Prefecture Apostolic of Liberia. The vicariate was elevated to the status of a diocese, taking the name of ''Freetown and Bo'' on 18 April 1950. In 1952, the Prefecture Apostolic of Makeni was split off from its territory. The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese on 11 November 1970, at which time also the Diocese of Kenema was split off. On 15 January 2011, the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bo was created in January 2011, split off from the Archdiocese of Freetown. There are about 50,000 Roman Catholics under the jurisdiction of the diocese. Its first and present bishop is Charles Allieu Matthew Campb ...

was split off the ''Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo'' which is called Archdiocese of Freetown since then.

Geography

The diocese covers an area of , around the

capital city of

. The archidiocese has three suffragan dioceses, those of Roman Catholic Diocese of Bo, Bo,

Kenema Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of the Eastern Province. At the 2015 national cens ...

and

Makeni Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of M ...

Cathedral

The cathedral of the Freetown archdiocese is the Sacred Heart Cathedral,Sacred Heart Cathedral in Freetown
/ref> also sometimes called simply the Cathedral of Freetown. The cathedral is located in the Howe street of the town of Freetown. Work on its construction began in November 1884 and was dedicated on October 27, 1887. The Sacred Heart Cathedral follows the Roman rite.

Ordinaries

* Melchior-Marie-Joseph de Marion-Brésillac MEP (1858–1859) *

John Joseph O'Gorman John Joseph O'Gorman C.S.Sp. (May 8, 1866 – 1935) was an Irish member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, who served as Bishop of Freetown in Sierra Leone, its first Roman Catholic bishop.

CSSp (1903–1932) *

Bartholomew Stanislaus Wilson Bartholomew Stanislaus Wilson C.S.Sp. (1884–1938), sometimes referred to as Bartholomew Stanley Wilson, was an Irish-born Roman Catholic priest, bishop, and member of the Spiritan order. He served as Vicar Apostolic of Bagamoyo in East Africa, an ...

CSSp (1933–1936) *

Ambrose Kelly Bishop Ambrose Kelly C.S.Sp (born 24 June 1900, died 12 February 1952) was a member of the Holy Ghost Fathers, and served as Archbishop of Freetown and Bo, in Sierre Leone. Born in 1900 in Newhaven, Sussex, England, to Irish parents, Kelly was e ...

CSSp (1937–1952) *

Thomas Joseph Brosnahan The Most Reverend Thomas Joseph Brosnahan, Archbishop Emeritus, C.S.Sp. (30 March 1905 – 26 January 1996) was Archbishop of Freetown and Bo in Sierra Leone. Early life Born in Whitegate, Ireland, on 30 March 1905. He was educated in Roc ...

CSSp (1952–1980) *

Joseph Henry Ganda The Most Reverend Joseph Henry Ganda, Archbishop Emeritus, (born 22 March 1932 in Serabu, Bo District, British Sierra Leone) is the retired Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo. Born in the village Serabu in the Bo district, he ...

(1980–2007) *

Edward Tamba Charles Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

(2008–present)

References

External links