The Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Gambellensis) (formerly the ''Apostolic Prefecture of Gambella'') is a

Catholic 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 ...

missionary pre-

diocesan 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 associate ...

jurisdiction (known as an apostolic vicariate) in the western part of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It is exempt, i.e. immediately dependent upon 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 ...

(notably the 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 ...

), not part of any

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 ...

(such as the Metropolitan

Archbishopric of Addis Abbeba 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 associat ...

). 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 ...

episcopal see is the

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

Cathedral, in Gambela. The Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella comprises all the Gambella Region and large part of Illubabor Zone in Oromia Region.

History

On 16 November 2000 it was established 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 Gambella, on territory split-off from the

Apostolic Prefecture of Jimma–Bonga 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 ...

, the only other one in Ethiopia observing the Roman rite (like all five Apostolic vicariates in the predominantly Coptic country). On 5 December 2009 it was promoted an apostolic vicariate, since entitled to 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 an ...

Ordinaries

(

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

, so far missionary members of a Latin congregation) ;''Apostolic Prefect of Gambella'' * Fr. Angelo Moreschi,

Salesians , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

(S.D.B.), (2000.11.16 – 2009.12.05 ''see below'') ;''Apostolic Vicars of Gambella'' *

Angelo Moreschi Angelo Moreschi S.D.B. (13 June 1952 – 25 March 2020) was an Italian missionary of the Catholic Church who spent his career in Ethiopia. He was prefect apostolic of Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella, Gambella, and became vicar apostolic there ...

, S.D.B., (''see above'' 2009.12.05 – 2020.03.25),

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 ...

Elephantaria in Mauretania Elephantaria in Mauretania was an ancient city in the Maghreb during the Roman, Byzantine and Vandal empires. It is shown on the Peutinger Table map. Today, the city exists only as unexcavated ruins at Henchir, a suburb of Algiers, and a titular ...

(2009.12.05 – 2020.03.25)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org with incumbent bio links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambella Apostolic vicariates Catholicism in Ethiopia Apostolic Vicariate Gambella

History

Ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links