The Diocese of Karonga (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Dioecesis Karongana'') is a see of the

Roman 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 ...

suffragan of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe ( la, Archidioecesis Lilongvensis) is the Roman Catholic archdiocese located in Lilongwe in Malawi. Before its elevation to an archdiocese in 2011, it had belonged to the ecclesiastical province of the Ar ...

. In 2010, it counted 61,000 baptized people among a population of 400,000 inhabitants. Its current bishop is Martin Anwel Mtumbuka. Located in the Northern region of Malawi, the Diocese of Karonga occupies a considerable portion of the landlocked country. Malawi, nestled in South Eastern Africa, covers an area of roughly 118,000km². It is surrounded by Tanzania to the North East, Zambia to the North West, and Mozambique enveloping both the South East and South West sides. The Diocese of Karonga, a relatively recent establishment, was created by

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 ...

on July 21, 2010. Its official inauguration occurred later that year on November 20, coinciding with the consecration of Rt. Rev. Martin Anwel Mtumbuka as the Chief Shepherd of the Diocese. Geographically, the Diocese spans the entirety of Karonga and Chitipa districts, in addition to some northern parts of the Rumphi district. Prior to the establishment of the Karonga Diocese, this area was governed by the Diocese of Mzuzu as its Northern Deanery, with the administrative center located in the town of Karonga. At its inception, the Karonga Diocese covered an approximate area of 12,000 km², populated by an estimated 451,861 people. Out of this populace, approximately 60,000 individuals, or 14%, were Catholics. The 2008 population census recorded the populations of Karonga and Chitipa as 272,789 and 179,072, respectively. Both districts exhibited a population growth rate of 3.5%. Factoring in the populations from parts of Rumphi and this growth rate, the Diocese of Karonga is currently estimated to cater to roughly 590,000 people. The geographical spread of the Karonga Diocese includes some of the country's most inaccessible regions. Its terrain is flanked by

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

on the east and mountainous areas on the west, reaching remote locations such as Livingstonia, Nyika plateau, and Misuku hills. Despite Tumbuka being the prevalent language, the residents also communicate in several other languages including Lambya, Ndali, Nyakyusa, and Ngonde.

Website

www.karongadiocese.org

Territory

The diocese corresponds to the

Chitipa District Chitipa District is the northernmost Districts of Malawi, district in the Northern Region, Malawi, Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Chitipa (formerly known as Fort Hill). The district covers an area of 4,288 km.², and has a populati ...

and the

Karonga District Karonga is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The district covers an area of 3,355 km.² and has a population of 365,028. It is a border district between Malawi and Tanzania, mainly occupied by the Tumbuka and Nkhonde tribes. Ot ...

of the Northern Region of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. The see is located in the city of

Karonga Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609. His ...

, where 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 denomination ...

of Saint Mary stands. The territory is divided into 5 parishes.

History

The diocese was created on July 21, 2010, with the Papal bull ''Quo in Malavio'' of 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 ...

, taking territories from the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mzuzu The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mzuzu ( la, Mzuzuen(sis)) is the Roman Catholic diocese located in Mzuzu in Malawi. It is in the Ecclesiastical Province of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe. History * May 8, 1947: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of ...

. It was originally suffragan of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Blantyre The Archdiocese of Blantyre is the metropolitan see for the ecclesiastical province of Blantyre in Malawi. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Our Lady of Wisdom Cathedral, Blantyre. The Archdiocese of Blantyre is . Out of a total pop ...

. On February 9, 2011, it entered the

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 ...

of the

Chronology of the bishops

* Martin Anwel Mtumbuka since July 21, 2010

Statistics

When it was created, the diocese counted 400,000 inhabitants among whom 61,000 were baptized, which is 15.3%. , - , 2010 , , 61.000 , , 400.000 , , 15,3 , , 15 , , 9 , , 6 , , 4.067 , , , , 5 , , 40 , , 5

External links

The Karonga Diocese official website

*
Creation of the diocese

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karonga

Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Lilongwe