The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toliara ( la, Toliarana) is one of five

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 ...

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 ...

s with an

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 sev ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

, yet depends on the missionary

Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. It

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 denominations ...

archiepiscopal see is in

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

(formerly Tuléar).

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 jurisdiction ...

sees are : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Morombe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Morombe (''Latin language, Latin: Moromben(sis)'') is a diocese located in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toliara, Toliara in Madagascar. The episcopal see is in the city of Morombe. Hi ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Morondava The Roman Catholic Diocese of Morondava ( la, Morondaven(sis)) is a suffragan Latin diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Toliara (one of five in Madagascar), yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tôlagnaro The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tolagnaro ( la, Tolagnaren(sis)) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Fort-Dauphin in Madagascar, yet still depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. It ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 119,638 Catholics (11.8% of 1,014,000 total) on 43,570 km² in 23 parishes and 1 mission with 63 priests (26 diocesan, 37 religious), 373 lay religious (68 brothers, 305 sisters) and 18 seminarians.

History

* Established on 1957.04.08 as Diocese of

Tuléar Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

, on territty split off from the Diocese of Fort-Dauphin * Renamed on 1989.10.28 like its see as Diocese of Toliara * Promoted on 2003.12.03 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toliara

Bishops

Ordinaries

(all

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 di ...

) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Tuléar'' * Michel-Henri Canonne,

Assumptionists The Assumptionists, officialy named the Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption ( la, Congregatio Augustinianorum ab Assumptione) abbreviated AA,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (priests and b ...

(A.A.) (born France) (1959.04.25 – retired 1974.02.28), died 1991 * René Joseph Rakotondrabé (1974.02.28 – 1989.05.15), previously

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 a ...

Umbriatico Umbriatico is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Crotone, in Calabria, southern Italy. As of 2007 Umbriatico had an estimated population of 930. History Umbriatico was founded by the Oenotrians before the arrival of the Greek colonists who ...

(1972.03.25 – 1974.02.28) as Auxiliary Bishop of Tuléar (1972.03.25 – 1974.02.28); later Bishop of

Tamatave Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...

(Madagascar) (1989.05.15 – 1990.01.31), Bishop of

Toamasina Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...

(Madagascar) (1990.01.31 – retired 2008.11.24), died 2012 ;''Suffragan Bishops of Toliara'' * Fulgence Rabeony,

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

(S.J.) (1990.04.02 – 2003.11.14 ''see below'') ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Toliara'' * Fulgence Rabeony, S.J. (''see above'' 2003.12.03 - ...), also President of Episcopal Conference of Madagascar (2002 – 2006)

Auxiliary Bishop

* René Joseph Rakotondrabé (1972-1974), appointed Bishop here

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toliara, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Madagascar Christian organizations established in 1957 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century A