The Roman Catholic Diocese of Berbérati ( la, Berberaten(sis)) is a Latin suffragan

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 ...

in the

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 ...

of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangui, both in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. However it remains under the authority of the missionary Roman

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

. Its episcopal see is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Berbérati Berbérati is the second-largest city in the Central African Republic, with a population of 105,155(2013 census). Located in the south-west of the country near the border with Cameroon, it serves as capital of the Mambéré-Kadéï Prefecture and g ...

, in the Mambéré-Kadéï Prefecture (southwest, formerly Haute-Sangha). The city also has the former cathedral dedicated to

Saint Anna According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 214,000 Catholics (48.3% of 443,000 total) on 44,000 km² in 16 parishes and 7 missions, with 30 priests (24 diocesan, 6 religious), 34 lay religious (10 brothers, 24 sisters) and 33 seminarians .

History

* Established on May 28, 1940 as

Apostolic Prefecture 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 Berbérati, on territories split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Foumban (also in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

) and the

Apostolic Vicariate of Oubangui Chari Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles * Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

(now Central African Republic). Lost territory 1947.01.09 to establish the then

Apostolic Prefecture of Fort-Lamy Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles * Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

(in Chad) * Promoted on March 13, 1952 as Apostolic Vicariate of Berbérati, hence entitled to a (titular) bishop * September 14, 1955: Promoted as Diocese of Berbérati * Lost territories on 1959.02.09 to establish the

Apostolic Prefecture of Bossangoa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bossangoa ( la, Bossangoën(sis)) is a diocese in Bossangoa in the Ecclesiastical province of Bangui in the Central African Republic. History * February 9, 1959: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Bossangoa fr ...

and on 1978.02.27 to establish the Diocese of Bouar.

Ordinaries

(all Roman rite; so far all members of missionary congregations) ;''Apostolic Prefect of Berbérati'' * Father

Pietro Alcantara da Habas Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Can ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (1941.03.28 – death 1952) ;'' Apostolic Vicar of Berbérati'' * Alphonse-Célestin-Basile Baud, O.F.M. Cap. (1954.04.10 – 1955.09.14 ''see below''),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Risinium (1954.04.10 – 1955.09.14), French ;'' Suffragan Bishops of Berbérati'' * Alphonse-Célestin-Basile Baud, O.F.M. Cap. (''see above'' 1955.09.14 – retired 1979.06.02, died 1981), French * Jérôme-Michel-Francis Martin, O.F.M. Cap. (1987.10.03 – retired 1991.06.17, died 2009), French * Agostino Giuseppe Delfino, O.F.M. Cap. (1991.06.17 – retired 2010.06.17), Italian * Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, S.M.A. (2012.05.14 - ...), first native Ordinary

References

External links and sources

GCatholic.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berberati, Diocese Roman Catholic dioceses in the Central African Republic Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Bangui Christian organizations established in 1940 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Mambéré-Kadéï

Statistics

History

Ordinaries

See also

References

External links and sources