The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nassau ( la, Archidioecesis Nassaviensis) 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 associate ...

of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

of the

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

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. The archdiocese encompasses the islands of the former British dependency of the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. The archbishop is the metropolitan responsible for the suffragan diocese of Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda and 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 missionary pseudo-diocesan jurisdiction, rankin ...

Turks and Caicos The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

, and is a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference. The first permanent Roman Catholic presence in the Bahamas was established in 1885 by the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

given its trade connections. The archdiocese was originally erected as the Prefecture Apostolic of the Bahama in March 1929, and was no longer associated with New York by 1932. The diocese was subsequently elevated to the Vicariate Apostolic of the Bahama Islands in January 1941, and then to a full diocese, as the diocese of Nassau, in June 1960. On June 22, 1999, the diocese was again elevated as the new Archdiocese of Nassau. As of 2004, the archdiocese contains 30 parishes, 15 active diocesan priests, 14 religious priests, and 48,000 Catholics. It also has 28 Women Religious, 14 Religious Brothers, and 13 permanent deacons.

Bishops

Ordinaries

John Bernard Kevenhoerster John Bernard Kevenhoerster, O.S.B. (November 1, 1869 – December 9, 1949) was a German-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Prefect Apostolic (1931–41) and Vicar Apostolic (1941-49) of the Bahama Islands. Biography Ke ...

O.S.B. (1931–1949) *

Paul Leonard Hagarty Paul Leonard Hagarty, O.S.B., O.B.E. (March 20, 1909 – September 22, 1984) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Nassau (1960–81), having previously served as Vicar Apostolic of the Bahama Islands (1 ...

O.S.B. (1950–1981) *

Lawrence Aloysius Burke Lawrence Aloysius Burke (27 October 1932 – 24 January 2010) was the 4th Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston in Jamaica. He also served previously as the 1st Archbishop of the newly created Roman Catholic Arc ...

, S.J. (1981–2004), appointed Archbishop of Kingston in Jamaica * Patrick Christopher Pinder (2004–present)

Auxiliary bishop

* Patrick Christopher Pinder (2003–2004), appointed Archbishop here

References

Archdiocese of Nassau page at catholichierarchy.org
retrieved July 18, 2006 Roman Catholic dioceses in the Caribbean Catholic Church in the Bahamas A {{Bahamas-geo-stub