The Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Anatoliensis, tr, Anadolu Havarisel Vekilliği) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Latin apostolic vicariate in the eastern half of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

(Asian

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

). The missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction is not part of any ecclesiastical province. It is under the direction of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

, an unusual structure for a Latin see, and directly dependent on 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 Rome ...

. Its

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 ...

seat is the Marian Cathedral of the Annunciation in

İskenderun İskenderun ( ar, الإسكندرونة, el, Αλεξανδρέττα "Little Alexandria"), historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, is a city in Hatay Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Names The city was founded as Ale ...

(Alexandria). It has the Co-Cathedral of St. Anthony of Padua in

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

as well.

History

* Established originally on 13 March 1845 as the

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 ...

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

, named for its location on the Black Sea, not for any preceding jurisdiction. * Suppressed on 12 September 1896, with its territory merged into the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Izmir in western Anatolia. * Restored on 20 June 1931 as the Mission sui iuris of Trabzon, its territory taken from the

Apostolic Vicariate of Constantinopole The Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Istanbulensis) is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate based in the city of Istanbul in Turkey.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 an ...

. As of 2020, the vicariate, which covers 450k square kilometers, had six parishes and two missions to serve a thousand Turkish Christians as well as Christian refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Ordinaries

;Apostolic Prefects of Trabzon (Independent Mission) * Damiano da Viareggio,

O.F.M. Cap. The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

(1845 – 1852) * Filippo Maria da Bologna, O.F.M. Cap. (1852 – 1881) * Eugenio da Modica, O.F.M. Cap. (1881 – 12 September 1896) ;

Ecclesiastical Superior 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, rank ...

s of Trabzon * Michele da Capodistria, O.F.M. Cap. (20 June 1931 – 9 March 1933) * Giovanni Giannetti da Fivizzano, O.F.M. Cap. (9 March 1933 – 1955) * Prospero Germini da Ospitaletto, O.F.M. Cap. (1955 – 1961) * Michele Salardi da Novellara, O.F.M. Cap. (1961 – 1966) *

Giuseppe Germano Bernardini Giuseppe Germano Bernardini, OFMCap (born 27 September 1928) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked as a missionary in Muslim-majority countries from 1957 to 2004 and served as Archbishop of Izmir, Turkey, from 1983 to 2004. Biogr ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (19 December 1966 – 30 November 1990) ** When Bernardini became archbishop of Izmir in 1983, he continued here as apostolic administrator. ;Apostolic Vicars of Anatolia ** Bernardini continued as apostolic administrator when the vicariate was erected on 30 November 1990 *

Ruggero Franceschini Ruggero Franceschini, OFMCap (born 1 September 1939) is an Italian archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Ruggero Franceshini was born in Prignano sulla Secchia, Italy, on 1 September 1938. He entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (2 July 1993 – 11 October 2004) *

Luigi Padovese Luigi Padovese (31 March 1947 – 3 June 2010) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who became a bishop and served as the Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia in Turkey. He was a Franciscan and a scholar who devoted most of his career to teaching ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (11 October 2004 – 3 June 2010) ** Franceschini returned as apostolic administrator (12 June 2010 – 14 August 2015) * Paolo Bizzeti, S.J. (14 August 2015 – present)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org with incumbent bio links

Roman Catholic dioceses in Turkey Religious organizations established in 1845 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century Hatay Province İskenderun 1845 establishments in the Ottoman Empire {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub

History

Ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links