The Roman Catholic Diocese of Karaganda is a

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 ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

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 ...

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 ...

in the

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 the Metropolitan of Mary Most Holy in Astana, yet remains subject to the missionary

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 ...

. Its

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 ...

episcopal see is the Marian Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima, in the city of

Karaganda Karaganda or Qaraghandy ( kk, Қарағанды/Qarağandy, ; russian: Караганда, ) is the capital of Karaganda Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, fourth most populous city in Kaza ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

.Catholic World Report: "In the land of the Gulag, a statement of faith in the future - A new cathedral in Kazakhstan has been dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima" by Joanna Bogle
September 14, 2012 The city also had the former Cathedral of St. Joseph.

History

Established on 1991.04.13 as

Apostolic Administration 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 Kazakhstan, on vast territory (most of ex-Soviet

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

) split off from the Diocese of Vladivostok. Lost territories repeatedly : * on 1997.09.29 to establish

Mission sui juris of Uzbekistan The Apostolic Administration of Uzbekistan is a Roman Catholic (Latin Church) Apostolic Administration (pre-diocesan jurisdiction; originally an Independent Mission) for the Catholics of Uzbekistan (West Turkistan, Central Asia). It is exempt, i.e. ...

Mission sui juris of Tajikistan The Catholic Church in Tajikistan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in Tajikistan ( West Turkistan, Central Asia), under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. In 2009, the size of the community was estimated at 300 people. This Miss ...

and

Mission sui juris of Turkmenistan The Roman Catholic Mission Sui Iuris of Turkmenistan is a Roman Catholic (Latin Church) Mission sui iuris (pre-diocesan jurisdiction) for the Catholics of Turkmenistan. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See (not part of any ecclesias ...

* on 1997.12.22 to establish

Mission sui juris of Kyrgyzstan The Apostolic Administration of Kyrgyzstan is a Roman Catholic (Latin Church) Apostolic Administration (pre-diocesan jurisdiction; originally an Independent Mission) for the Catholics of Kyrgyzstan ( West Turkistan, Central Asia). It is exempt, i.e ...

. Promoted on 1999.07.07 as Diocese of Karaganda, losing territory to establish

Apostolic Administration of Astana The Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mary Most Holy in Astana ( la, Archidioecesis Sanctae Mariae in Astanansis) is a Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Kazakhstan. Its cathedral episcopal see is the Marian Cathedral of Our M ...

, Apostolic Administration of Almaty and Apostolic Administration of Atyrau.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 8,340 Catholics (0.2% of 3,640,000 total) on 711,208 km² in 19 parishes and 2 missions with 19 priests (15 diocesan, 4 religious) and 38 lay religious (4 brothers, 34 sisters).

Episcopal 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 dist ...

) ;''Apostolic Administrator of Kazakhstan'' * Jan Pawel Lenga, M.I.C. (1991.04.13 – 1999.07.07 ''see below''), Ukrainian;

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 Arba (1991.04.13 – 1999.07.07) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Karaganda'' * Jan Pawel Lenga, M.I.C. (''see above'' 1999.07.07 – 2003.05.17), personally promoted

Archbishop-Bishop 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 archdioc ...

of Karaganda (2003.05.17 – emeritate 2011.02.05) * Janusz Wiesław Kaleta (2011.02.05 – emeritate 2014.07.15), Polish; previously

Phelbes Belbeis ( ar, بلبيس ; Bohairic cop, Ⲫⲉⲗⲃⲉⲥ/Ⲫⲉⲗⲃⲏⲥ ' is an ancient fortress city on the eastern edge of the southern Nile delta in Egypt, the site of the Ancient city and former bishopric of Phelbes and a Lat ...

(2006.09.15 – 2011.02.05) 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 ...

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

(Kazakhstan) (1999.07.07 – 2011.02.05) and later Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of above Atyrau (2011.02.05 – 2012.12.07); lay state since 2016.05.30 * Adelio Dell’Oro (2015.01.31 – ... ), Italian; previously Titular Bishop of

Castulo Castulo (Latin: ''Castulo''; Iberian: ''Kastilo'') was an Iberian town and bishopric (now Latin titular see located in the Andalusian province of Jaén, in south-central Spain, near modern Linares. History Evidence of human presence sin ...

(2012.12.07 – 2015.01.31) as

of Atyrau (2012.12.07 – 2015.05.16)

Auxiliary Bishops

Athanasius Schneider Athanasius Schneider, ORC (born Anton Schneider on 7 April 1961) is a Catholic prelate, serving as the Auxiliary Bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. He is known for championing th ...

, O.R.C., titular bishop of

Celerina Celerina/Schlarigna (German/Italian ''Celerina''; Romansh ) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Celerina/Schlarigna was first mentioned in 1313 as ''Schellarin'' and in 1320 as ''Celarina''. In ...

(8 April 2006 – 11 February 2011) *

Yevgeniy Zinkovskiy Bishop Yevgeniy Zinkovskiy ( kz, Евгений Зинковский; born 27 July 1975) is a Kazakh Roman Catholic prelate, who currently serves as the Titular Bishop of Maiuca and Auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Karaganda sin ...

, titular bishop of

Maiuca During the Roman Empire Maiuca was a Roman town, of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis, now lost to history, but that flourished in late antiquity but did not last long after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. The town was the seat of ...

(since 29 June 2021)

Notes

Sources and external links