The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbandaka-Bikoro ( la, Mbandakan(us)–Bikoroën(sis)) is the

Metropolitan 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 typ ...

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

for the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

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 ...

of Mbandaka-Bikoro, in the western part of

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 ...

. It is under the authority of the

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 ...

. The

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 ...

archiepiscopal see is at the Cathedral of St. Eugene, in Mbandaka, Équateur Province.

Statistics

As per 2015, it pastorally served 646,000 Catholics (52.4% of 1,232,000 total population) on 95,000 km² in 34 parishes with 87 priests (56 diocesan, 31 religious), 238 lay religious (82 brothers, 156 sisters) and 42 seminarians.

History

* Established on 1924.02.11 as Apostolic Prefecture of Tsuapa, on colonial territory split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Nouvelle-Anvers * 1926.01.28: Renamed after its see as Apostolic Prefecture of Coquilhatstad=Coquilhatville, having gained more territory from the above Apostolic Vicariate of Nouvelle-Anvers * 1931.01.03: Lost territory to establish the Mission sui juris of Bikoro (later a diocese, now merged-in with its title) * Promoted on 1932.03.22 as Apostolic Vicariate of Coquilhatville * 1951.06.14: Lost territory to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Isangi (now a diocese in Kisangani province) * Promoted on 1959.11.10 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Coquilhatville * 1961.09.11: Lost territory to establish the Diocese of Ikela (now its suffragan as Diocese of Bokungu–Ikela) * 1966.05.30: Renamed with its see as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mbandaka * 1975.04.12: Renamed as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mbandaka–Bikoro, having gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of Bikoro whose title was merged in

Ecclesiastical Province

Its

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

sees are : * Roman Catholic Diocese of Basankusu * Roman Catholic Diocese of Bokungu–Ikela, originally Ikela * Roman Catholic Diocese of Budjala *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisala The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisala ( la, Lisalaën(sis)) is a Latin Catholic diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, named after its see, located in the city of Lisala. History * E ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Lolo * Roman Catholic Diocese of Molegbe

Bishops

Ordinaries

;Apostolic Prefect of Coquilhatville * Edoardo van Goethem,

Sacred Heart Missionaries The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; la, Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis; french: Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Servant of God Jules Chevalier (182 ...

(M.S.C.) (born Belgium) (1924.02.25 – 1932.03.22 ''see below'') ;Apostolic Vicars of Coquilhatville *

Edoardo van Goethem Edoardo is the Italian form of the English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoardo Amaldi (1908 ...

, M.S.C. (''see above'' 1932.03.22 – retired 1946),

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 ...

of Corone (1932.11.29 – death 1949.05.26) * Hilaire Marie Vermeiren, M.S.C. (born Belgium) (1947.04.10 – 1959.11.10 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of Gibba (1947.04.10 – 1959.11.10) ;Metropolitan Archbishops of Coquilhatville * Hilaire Marie Vermeiren, M.S.C. (''see above'' 1959.11.10 – retired 1963.04.08), emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Pedachtoë (1963.04.08 – death 1967.08.18) * Pierre Wijnants, M.S.C. (born Belgium) (1964.04.21 – 1966.05.30 ''see below'') ;Metropolitan Archbishop of Mbandaka * Pierre Wijnants, M.S.C. (''see above'' 1966.05.30 – 1975.04.12 ''see below'') ;Metropolitan Archbishops of Mbandaka-Bikoro * Pierre Wijnants, M.S.C. (''see above'' 1975.04.12 – retired 1977.11.11), died 1978 *

Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae, C.I.C.M. (; 3 December 1930, Belgian Congo – 6 January 2007, Leuven, Belgium) was Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and Archdiocese of Kinshasa, Archbishop of Ki ...

, Scheutists (C.I.C.M.) (first native Congolese incumbent) (1977.11.11 – 1990.07.07), succeeding as former Titular Archbishop of Menefessi(1976.07.08 – 1977.11.11) as

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of Mbandaka–Bikoro (1976.07.08 – 1977.11.11); later staying on a while as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Mbandaka–Bikoro (1990.07.07 – 1991.10.11) while Metropolitan Archbishop 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 o ...

(1990.07.07 – death 2007.01.06), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Lucia a Piazza d’Armi (1991.06.28 – 2007.01.06), President of National Episcopal Conference of Congo (2000 – 2004) *

Joseph Kumuondala Mbimba Joseph Kumuondala Mbimba (1941 – March 6, 2016) was a Roman Catholic archbishop. Ordained to the priesthood in 1969, Kumuondala Mbimba was named auxiliary bishop and then diocesan bishop of Bokunga-Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

(1991.10.11 - death 2016.03.06), also

of Diocese of Bokungu–Ikela (Congo-Kinshasa) (1991.10.11 – 1993), Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Molegbe (Congo-Kinshasa) (1997 – 1998.06.27); previously Titular Bishop of Simidicca (1980.11.29 – 1982.03.18) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Bokungu–Ikela (Congo-Kinshasa) (1980.11.29 – 1982.03.18), succeeding as Bishop of Bokungu–Ikela (1982.03.18 – 1991.10.11) * Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Capuchin Franciscans (O.F.M. Cap.) (2016.11.12 – 2018.02.06), also Vice-President of National Episcopal Conference of Congo (2016.06.24 – ...), Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Bokungu–Ikela (Congo-Kinshasa) (2016.11.12 – 2018.02.06); previously Bishop of above Bokungu–Ikela (2004.11.22 – 2016.11.12), also Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Kole (Congo-Kinshasa) (2008.10.30 – 2015.05.06), Apostolic Administrator of Mbandaka–Bikoro (2016.03.05 – succession 2016.11.12); next Coadjutor Archbishop of

(Congo-Kinshasa) (2018.02.06 – 2018.11.01), Archbishop of Kinshasa (2018.11.01 - ...); created Cardinal-Priest of San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa (2019.10.05) * Ernest Ngboko Ngombe, C.I.C.M. (2019.11.23 - present); previously, Bishop of Lisala (2015.02.11 - 2019.11.23)

Coadjutor bishop

, C.I.C.M. (1976-1977); future Cardinal

References

External links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite HQ photo - data for all sections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbandaka-Bikoro, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Mbandaka Roman Catholic dioceses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Religious organizations established in 1924 Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century