Mission ''Sui Iuris'' of Afghanistan (

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 ...

: ''Missio sui juris Afghanistaniensis'') is the independent mission of Afghanistan under direct jurisdiction 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 ...

. It is immediately 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 ...

and covers the whole territory of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It was established by the Holy See and entrusted to the care of the Order of Clerics Regular of Saint Paul – Barnabites (CRSP). It is presided over by an Ecclesiastical Superior (Latin: ''Superior Ecclesiasticus''), who acts as the Local Ordinary (Can. 134 §2).

History

On May 16, 2002, a mission ''sui iuris'' (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 associat ...

jurisdiction) was created for all of Afghanistan, which remains exempt. This means that it belongs to no

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 seve ...

, but rather is directly dependent on the

and its missionary branch, the Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On November 4, 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Giovanni M. Scalese, CRSP, as the second

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 ...

of the mission ''sui iuris'' in Afghanistan. The mission has one parish (in the national capital of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, with the single church in the Italian embassy) with 3 Priests (religious) and 6 lay religious sisters.

Ecclesiastical Superiors Seco (Ecclesiastical Superiors)

* Fr. Giuseppe Moretti, CRSP, born in Italy 1938 (16 May 2002 – retired 4. November 2014) * Fr. Giovanni M. Scalese, CRSP, born in Italy 1955 (4 November 2014)

Our Lady of Divine Providence Chapel

The Chapel of Our Lady of Divine Providence, or Chapel of the Italian Embassy in Kabul, is the only functional Catholic building in Afghanistan. It is located in the Street Great Massoud in the area of the Italian Embassy in Kabul.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for the mission was created by

Marek Sobola Marek Sobola (born 3 July 1981) is an authorised landscape architect, professional gardener and heraldic artist from Slovakia. Biography Sobola was born in Žilina, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) into a family from Lalinok and Divina. He spe ...

, a Slovak heraldic artist, and has its own unique symbolism.

Blazon of Coat of Crest

Azure, an increscent Argent with a Mullet of eight-points Or, A bordure is made up of 3 colors — Sable, Gules and Vert. Behind the shield is the golden processional Herat cross. Under the shield is the red-lined silver ribbon with the motto "''Orietur Stella"'' ("A Star Shall Rise").

References

{{portalbar, Afghanistan Catholic Church in Afghanistan Afghanistan–Italy relations