The Archdiocese of Kinshasa (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

: ''Archidioecesis Kinshasana'';

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Archidiocèse de Kinshasa'') is an

archdiocese 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 ...

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 ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the capital city of

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

and surrounding districts. The

is the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

for the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa. The current

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

is Fridolin Ambongo Besungu. Established as the Apostolic Vicariate of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

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 ...

in 1888, it was raised to the status of an archdiocese in 1959. In 1966, its name was changed from the Archdiocese of Léopoldville to the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. Today, the archdiocese covers a territory of 8,500 km² (3,283

sq mi The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi2)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is an are ...

) and, as of 2016, has a total population of 11,323,000, of whom 6,378,000 (56.3%) are Catholic. The archdiocese is served by 1,208 priests, including 238

diocesan priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain ge ...

s and 970 religious priests, 1,661 male religious (including religious priests and brothers), and 1,982 religious sisters. The archdiocese has 143 parishes, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo in Kinshasa.

History

The archdiocese was established on 22 November 1886 as the ''

Mission sui iuris 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 (term), Roman Catholic Church, Catholic mission ...

'' of the

, from territory taken from both the

Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Congo The Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Congo (or Apostolic Prefecture of Portuguese Congo) was a Roman Catholic pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction in Central Africa's Congo basin. History The Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Congo, an exempt jurisdict ...

(in Cubango,

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

) and the

Apostolic Vicariate of Two Guineas The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Libreville ( French: ''Archidiocèse catholique romain de Libreville'') is the Metropolitan See of the Latin Ecclesiastical province covering all Gabon. Its cathedral episcopal see is the Cathédrale Notre Dam ...

(in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

). It was promoted on 11 May 1888 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Belgian Congo. Over time, it lost territory repeatedly: to establish the ''Mission sui juris'' of Kwango on 18 April 1892, the Apostolic Prefecture of Uélé on 12 May 1898, the ''Mission sui juris'' of Kasaï Supérieur on 26 July 1901, the Apostolic Prefecture of Stanley Falls on 3 August 1904, the Apostolic Prefecture of Ubangui Belge on 7 April 1911, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Matadi and the Apostolic Prefecture of Northern Katanga on 1 July 1911. On 3 April 1919, it was renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville. It lost territory several times more: to establish the ''Mission sui juris'' of Bikoro on 3 January 1931, the Apostolic Vicariate of Boma on 26 February 1934, the Apostolic Prefecture of Kole on 14 June 1951, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Inongo on 29 June 1953. It was elevated on 10 November 1959 as the Archdiocese of Léopoldville, when the city was soon to become the national capital of the newly independent

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. It was renamed the Archdiocese of Kinshasa on 30 May 1966, when the city's name was changed from Léopoldville to

. The archdiocese was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in May 1980 and again in August 1985.

Bishops

Ordinaries

;''Apostolic Vicars of the Belgian Congo'' *François Camille Van Ronslé, C.I.C.M. (1896-1919); ''see below'' ;''Apostolic Vicars of Léopoldville'' *François Camille Van Ronslé, C.I.C.M. (1919-1926); ''see above'' *Natale de Cleene, C.I.C.M. (1926-1932) * Georges Six, C.I.C.M. (1934-1952) *Félix Scalais, C.I.C.M. (1953-1959); ''see below'' ;''Archbishops of Léopoldville'' *Félix Scalais, C.I.C.M. (1959-1964); ''see above'' * Joseph Malula (1964-1966); future Cardinal; ''see below'' ;''Archbishops of Kinshasa'' * Joseph Malula (1966-1989) (Cardinal in 1969); ''see above'' *

Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi, C.I.C.M. (; 3 December 1930, Belgian Congo – 6 January 2007, Leuven, Belgium) was cardinal and Archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was the DRC's foremost Catholic prela ...

, C.I.C.M. (1990-2007) (Cardinal in 1991) *

Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (7 October 1939 – 11 July 2021) was a Congolese prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the Archbishop of Kinshasa from 2007 to 2018. He became a cardinal in 2010. He was widely recognized as a champion of peace, dialogu ...

(2007-2018) (Cardinal in 2010) * Fridolin Ambongo Besungu,

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 ...

(2018–present) (Cardinal in 2019)

Coadjutor bishops

* Noël de Cleene, C.I.C.M. (1924-1926), as Coadjutor vicar apostolic * Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M. Cap. (2018); future Cardinal

Auxiliary Bishops of Kinshasa

*Joseph Malula (1959-1964), appointed Archbishop here; future Cardinal * Eugène Moke Motsüri (1970-1991) *Tharcisse Tshibangu Tshishiku (1970-1991), appointed Bishop of Mbujimayi *Dominique Bulamatari (1999-2009), appointed Bishop of Molegbe *Edouard Kisonga Ndinga, S.S.S. (1999–present) * Daniel Nlandu Mayi (1999-2008), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Matadi *Timothée Bodika Mansiyai, P.S.S. (2012-2016), appointed Bishop of Kikwit *Sébastien-Joseph Muyengo Mulombe (2012-2013), appointed Bishop of Uvira *Donatien Bafuidinsoni Maloko-Mana, S.J. (2015-2018), appointed Bishop of Inongo * Jean-Pierre Kwambamba Masi (2015-2018), appointed Bishop of Kenge * Jean-Crispin Kimbeni Ki Kanda (2020-), elect * Charles Ndaka Salabisala (2020-), elect * Vincent Tshomba Shamba Kotsho (2020-), elect

Suffragan dioceses

The Archdiocese of Kinshasa is the

metropolitan archdiocese A metropolis religious jurisdiction, or a metropolitan archdiocese, is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces. ...

of the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa, which includes the following

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

s: * Boma * Idiofa *

Inongo Inongo is the capital of Mai-Ndombe Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 45,159. Transport The town is served by Inongo Airport Inongo Airport is an airstrip servi ...

* Kenge * Kikwit *

Kisantu Kisantu, is a town in the western Democratic Republic of Congo, lying south west of Kinshasa, on the Inkisi River. It is known for its large cathedral and for its botanical gardens, which include an arboretum of indigenous trees. Location Kisa ...

* Matadi * Popokabaka

References

Source and External links

GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links
{{authority control

Kinshasa Religious organizations established in 1886

1886 establishments in the Congo Free State