The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bissau ( la, Bissagen(sis)) is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

located in the city of

Bissau Bissau () is the capital, and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. Bissau had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, and its administrative and m ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

History

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

created a

Mission “sui iuris” A mission '' sui iuris'', or in Latin ''missio sui iuris'' (plural ''missions sui iuris''); also spelled mission(s) sui juris), also known as an independent mission, is a rare type of Roman Catholic missionary pseudo-diocesan jurisdiction, ranki ...

comprising the then overseas colony of

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Gu ...

on September 4, 1940, until then under the jurisdiction of the

Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde The Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Iacobi Capitis Viridis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Cape Verde. It covers the islands of Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brava (the Sota ...

, in

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

islands. It was promoted to an Apostolic Prefecture on April 29, 1955. After the independence of Guinea-Bissau, on September 10, 1974, it was renamed as Apostolic Prefecture of Guinea-Bissau the January 1st, 1975. The Diocese of Bissau was finally created on 21 March 1977. The first Bishop of the Diocese of Bissau was Italian-born

Settimio Ferrazzetta Settimio Arturo Ferrazzetta O.F.M. (Selva di Progno, Verona, 8 December 1924- Bissau, 26 January 1999) was an Italian-born Guinea-Bissauan Roman Catholic bishop. He was ordained a priest at the Order of Friars Minor on 1 July 1951. In 1955 he w ...

, who held office until his death, at 26 January 1999. He was succeeded by the first Bissau-Guinean native bishop, José Câmnate na Bissign, aged 57 years old. On 13 May 2011

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

named Father José Lampra Cá as Auxiliary Bishop-elect of Bissau. Lampra Cá was born in 1964 and ordained a priest in 1997. He was formerly the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the St. Kizito Minor Seminary and Professor of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the Major Seminary of Bissau.

Chronology

* September 4, 1940: Established as the

of Portuguese Guinea from the

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

* April 29, 1955: Promoted as the Apostolic Prefecture of Portuguese Guinea * January 1, 1975: Renamed as the Apostolic Prefecture of Guinea-Bissau * March 21, 1977: Promoted to the Diocese of Bissau

Leadership

* Ecclesiastical Superiors of Portuguese Guinea ** Fr. Giuseppe Ribeiro de Magalhães, O.F.M. (1941.06.20 – 1953) ** Fr. Martinho da Silva Carvalhosa, O.F.M. (1953 – 1955.04.29 ''see below'') * Prefects Apostolic of Portuguese Guinea ** Fr. Martinho da Silva Carvalhosa, O.F.M. (''see above'' 1955.04.29 – 1963) ** Fr. João Ferreira, O.F.M. (1963.01.25 – 1965) ** Fr. Amândio Domingues Neto, O.F.M. (1966.04.04 – 1977) * Bishops of Bissau ** Bishop

, O.F.M. (1977.03.21 – 1999.01.26) ** Bishop José Câmnate na Bissign (1999.10.15 – 2020.07.11) ** Bishop José Lampra Cà (2021.12.10 – ...)

Auxiliary Bishop

* José Lampra Cà (2011 – 2021)

Sources

GCatholic.org

Roman Catholic dioceses in Guinea-Bissau Christian organizations established in 2001 Bissau Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 21st century 2001 establishments in Guinea-Bissau Roman Catholic bishops of Bissau {{Africa-RC-diocese-stub

History

Chronology

Leadership

Auxiliary Bishop

See also

Sources