The Roman Catholic Diocese of Molegbe ( la, Molegben(sis)) is 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 ...

Latin

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 ...

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 Mbandaka-Bikoro 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

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 Cathédrale Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue ( St. Anthony of Padua) in the city of Molegbe.

History

* Established on April 7, 1911 as

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Belgian Ubanghi, on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville * January 28, 1935: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Belgian Ubanghi, since entitled to a

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 ...

* Promoted on November 10, 1959 as Diocese of Molegbe, ceasing to be exempt.

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 ...

, mostly missionary members of Latin congregations) ; ''Apostolic Prefects of Belgian Ubanghi'' * Fr. Fulgenzio da Gerard-Montes,

Capuchin Friars 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) ...

(O.F.M. Cap.) (1911 – 1930?) * Fr. Basilio Ottavio Tanghe, O.F.M. Cap. (1931.10.16 – 1935.01.28 ''see below) ; ''Apostolic Vicars'' of Belgian Ubanghi * Basilio Ottavio Tanghe, O.F.M. Cap. (''see above'' 1935.01.28 – 1947.12.16),

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 ...

Tigava :''See Leistarcha scitissimella for the moth species also known as Tigava scitissimella'' Tigava was an ancient Roman-Berber town and bishopric in Roman Africa, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see. It corresponds with the modern locality o ...

(1935.01.28 – 1947.12.16) * Jean Ghislain Delcuve, O.F.M. Cap. (1948.06.10 – 1958.11.13), Titular Bishop of

Bargylia Bargylia (; grc, Βαργυλία), was a city on the coast of ancient Caria in southwestern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) between Iasos and Myndus. Bargylia's location corresponds to the modern Turkish town of Boğaziçi in Muğla Province. T ...

* Léon Théobald Delaere, O.F.M. Cap. (1958.11.13 – 1959.11.10 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of Fessei (1958.11.13 – 1959.11.10) ; ''Bishops of Molegbe'' *

Léon Théobald Delaere Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

, (O.F.M. Cap.) (''see above'' 1959.11.10 – 1967.08.03), later Titular Bishop of

Rusibisir Rusippisir was a Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast at the site of present-day Taksebt. Name Rusippisir is the latinization of the town's Punic name, which probably meant "Cape Rosemary". Geography ...

(1967.08.03 – 1976.09.14) * ''

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 ...

Louis Nganga a Ndzando (1967 – 1968.09.05)'', Bishop of Lisala (Congo-Kinshasa) (1964.11.25 – 1997.07.06) *

Joseph Kesenge Wandangakongu Joseph Kesenge Wandangakongu (4 April 1928 in Molegbe – 19 February 2021 in Gbadolite) was the Democratic Republic of the Congo Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman ci ...

(1968.09.05 – 1997.10.18) *

Ignace Matondo Kwa Nzambi Ignace Matondo Kwa Nzambi (April 12, 1932 – September 9, 2011) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Molegbe, Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratiqu ...

Scheutists The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...

(C.I.C.M.) (1998.06.27 – 2007.05.23) * Dominique Bulamatari (2009.11.24 - )

Source and External links

GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molegbe Roman Catholic dioceses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Christian organizations established in 1911 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Mbandaka-Bikoro

History

Ordinaries

See also

Source and External links