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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a

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 associ ...

. Although it usually has an (embryonal) see, it is often not called after such city but rather after a natural or administrative (in many cases colonial) geographical area. If a prefecture grows and flourishes, it may be elevated to an apostolic vicariate, headed by a

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 a ...

, in the hope that with time the region will generate enough Catholics and stability for its Catholic institutions, to warrant being established as a diocese. Both these stages remain missionary, hence 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 R ...

(notably the Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), normally not part of an

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 sev ...

. The full sequence of development is: independent mission, apostolic prefecture, apostolic vicariate, apostolic diocese; however steps may be skipped at the papal discretion, so the next steps may be bishopric or even archbishopric. The apostolic prefecture and the apostolic vicariate are to be distinguished from the

territorial abbacy A territorial abbey (or territorial abbacy) is a particular church of the Catholic Church comprising defined territory which is not part of a diocese but surrounds an abbey or monastery whose abbot or superior functions as ordinary for all C ...

(formerly called an " abbey nullius").

History

During the last centuries of the second millennium it was the practice of the Holy See to govern either through prefects apostolic or apostolic vicariates, many territories where no dioceses with resident bishops were erected and where local circumstances, such as the character and customs of the people or hostility of civil powers, made it doubtful whether an episcopal see could be permanently established. The establishing of a prefecture apostolic in a place supposes that the Church has attained only a small development in the area. Fuller growth leads to the foundation of an apostolic vicariate as an intermediate stage to becoming a diocese. A prefect apostolic is of lower rank than a vicar apostolic. The prefect's powers are more limited and do not normally possess the episcopal character, as is ordinarily the case with a vicar apostolic. The duties of a prefect apostolic consist in directing the work of the mission entrusted to his care; his powers are in general those necessarily connected with the ordinary administration of such an office, for instance: the assigning of missionaries and the making of regulations for the good management of the affairs of the mission. Until the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, the prefect apostolic had extraordinary faculties for several cases reserved otherwise to diocesan bishops, such as absolutions from censures, dispensations from matrimonial impediments and the faculty of consecrating chalices, patens, and portable altars, with some having the power to administer Confirmation. Prefects apostolic govern independent territories and are subject only to the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. When a vicariate or a diocese extended over a very large territory in which the Catholic population was unequally distributed, the Holy See sometimes placed a portion of the territory in charge of a prefect apostolic; in which case the faculties of the prefect were more limited, and in the exercise of his office he was supervised by the vicar apostolic or the diocesan bishop. With a view to better protecting the authority of the local vicar apostolic or bishop, it was proposed in the First Vatican Council to abolish prefects apostolic having jurisdiction over districts within a vicariate or diocese of the Latin Rite, but the Council was interrupted and the practice continued until

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

abolished them within the Oriental Churches by a decree of

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

on 12 September 1896, and established superiors with special dependence on the papal representatives of the areas concerned. In 1911 there were 66 prefectures apostolic: 5 in Europe; 17 in Asia; 3 in North America (e.g., the Yukon); 11 in South America; 23 in Africa and 7 in Oceania. At the end of 2010, the prefectures apostolic were only 39, of which the vast majority (29) were in PR

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(many vacant), where development of the Catholic Church, including that of the prefectures, had long been hindered by actions of the government. The 10 other prefectures included a newly created one for Azerbaijan, 4 more in Asia, 3 in Africa, 1 in the Americas and 1 in Oceania.''Annuario Pontificio 2012'', pp. 1061-1065

Current apostolic prefectures

In China

* Ankang 安康 (Hinganfu) /

Ankang Ankang () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the southwest. History The settl ...

* Baojing 保靖 / Paoking * Guilin 桂林 / Kweilin * Hainan 海南 / Hainan * Haizhou 海州 / Haichow * Jiamusi 佳木斯 / Kiamusze * Jian′ou 建甌 / Kienow * Lingling 零岭 / Yongzhou 永州 / Yungchow * Linqing 臨清 / Lintsing * Lintong 臨潼 / Lintung * Lixian 澧縣 / Lizhou 澧州 / Lichow * Qiqihar 齊齊哈爾 / Tsitsibar * Shaowu 邵武 / * Shashi 沙市 / Shasi * Shiqian 石阡 / Shihtsien * Suixian 隨縣 / Suihsien * Tongzhou 同州 / Tungchow * Tunxi 屯溪 / Tunki * Weihai(wei) 威海衛 / Weihaiwei * Xiangtan 湘潭 / Siangtan * Xining 西寧 / Sining * Xinjiang 新絳 / Jiangzhou 絳州 / Kiangchow * Xinjiang-Urumqi 新疆-烏魯木齊 / Sinkiang * Xinxiang 新鄉 / Sinsiang * Yangzhou 揚州 / Yangchow * Yiduxian 益都縣 / Iduhsien * Yixian 易縣 / Yihsien * Yueyang 岳陽 / Yuezhou 岳州 / Yochow * Zhaotong 昭通 / Chaotung

Elsewhere in Eurasia

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the cou ...

() in Cambodia * Kampong Cham () in Cambodia * Ulaanbaatar in Outer Mongolia * Yuzhno Sakhalinsk in Asian Russia and Japan * Baku, in and covering

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 ...

(raised to the level of prefecture on 4 August 2011; had been Mission sui iuris of Baku from 11 October 2006)

Americas

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

(U.K.), including South Georgia

Oceania

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Inte ...

, not exempt but in the

of Agana.

Africa

* Misurata, in Libya * Robe, in Ethiopia * Western Sahara

Former apostolic prefectures

:''(very incomplete) Most former apostolic prefectures were promoted to apostolic vicariate or territorial prelature (under a

) or (mostly later) to a

or even an archdiocese (under a residential bishop), but some ceased to exist (at least under their name or extent) being suppressed or sometimes dismembered.

Europe

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

(promoted Diocese of Reykjavík) * Rhodes and adjacent islands (insular Greece) * Apostolic Prefecture of Scotland (UK) *Luxembourg (promoted Apostolic Vicariate, now Archdiocese )

Germany

* Lausitz (Lusatia) *

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Asia

Indian subcontinent

* French Colonies in India (then French India) * Jubbulpore * Madura (Diocese of Tiruchirapalli)

Malay
Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

* Bangka and Biliton (now Diocese of Pangkal-Pinang) * Brunei (now Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei) * Labuan e Borneo, then Northern Borneo (now

Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu (Lat: ''Archdioecesis Kotakinabaluensis'') is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Sabah, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The Archdiocese is the ...

) * Sarawak (now

Archdiocese of Kuching The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching ( la, Archidioecesis Kuchingensis) is a Metropolitan Latin archbishopric of the Roman Catholic Church in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on Borneo, however remains dependent on the missionary Roman Congreg ...

) * Mindanào * Mindoro (now

Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan The Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan (Latin: ''Vicariatus Apostolicus Calapanensis'') is a Latin Church missionary jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. In 2010, 756,000 residents had been ba ...

) * Mountain Province (now Diocese of Baguio) * Palawan (now Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa) * Sulu (now

Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo The Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo is a Latin Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction covering the Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces in southern Philippines. It is directly exempt to the Holy See, specifically Roman Congregation for the Evangeli ...

)

Americas

North and central America

* Îles de la Terre Ferme (now Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre, ) *

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

South America

* Alto Solimões (promoted diocese) * Apostolic Prefecture of Araucanía * Tefé (now Territorial Prelature) * Tumaco

Oceania

German Solomon Islands The Northern Solomons were the more northerly group of islands in the Solomon Islands (archipelago) over which Germany declared a protectorate in 1885. Initially, the German Solomon Islands Protectorate included, in the south-east, Choiseu ...

* Northern Solomon Islands * South Seas Islands

Africa and Indian Ocean

North Africa

* Bahr el-Ghazal * Delta of the Nile (Egypt) * Equatorial Nile * Sahara and Sudan

Horn of Africa

* Eritrea

Indian Ocean islands

* Islands of the Indian Ocean, then Bourbon (now Diocese of Saint-Denis de La Réunion)

West Africa

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (re ...

(promoted Archdiocese, in Burkina Faso) * Katanga (then Belgian Congo) * Apostolic Prefecture of Kayes (now Diocese in Mali) * Mupoi (Diocese of Tombura-Yambio) * N’Zérékoré * Oubangui Chari (French colonial name of Central African Republic; now Metropolitan of Bangui)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - List of Current Apostolic Prefectures; and many other pages
{{Catholicism Catholic ecclesiastical titles

History

Current apostolic prefectures

In China

Elsewhere in Eurasia

Americas

Oceania

Africa

Former apostolic prefectures

Europe

Germany

Asia

Indian subcontinent

Malay Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

Americas

North and central America

South America

Oceania

Africa and Indian Ocean

North Africa

Horn of Africa

Indian Ocean islands

West Africa

See also

References

Sources and external links

Malay
Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...