The Roman Catholic Diocese of Morondava ( la, Morondaven(sis)) is a
suffragan Latin
diocese
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 associa ...
in the
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 seve ...
of
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 ...
(one of five in
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 Africa ...
), yet depends on the missionary
Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
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 denominatio ...
episcopal see is the (Marian) Cathédrale Maria Manjaka Namahora, in the city of
Morondava
Morondava (, from mg, morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morandava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510.
Population
...
,
Toliara province
The Toliara Province (formerly Toliary or Tuléar) is a former province of Madagascar with an area of . It had a population of 2,229,550 (July, 2001). Its capital was Toliara. Near Toliara was the " spiny forest".
Toliara Province bordered the fol ...
.
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 54,895 Catholics (9.8% of 560,000 total) on 45,200 km
2 in 17 parishes and 26 missions with 42 priests (8 diocesan, 34 religious), 156 lay religious (39 brothers, 117 sisters) and 20 seminarians.
History
* Established on January 8, 1938 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 Morondava, on territories split off from the then
Apostolic Vicariate of Fianarantsoa,
Apostolic Vicariate of Majunga and
Apostolic Vicariate of Tananarive
* On 1939.03.15 it gained territory from
Mission sui juris of Miarinarivo.
* Promoted on September 14, 1955 as Diocese of Morondava
* Lost territories, twice : on 1960.04.25 to establish the
Diocese of Morombe and on 2017.02.08 (with two other sees) to establish
Diocese of Maintirano.
Ordinaries
(all
Roman rite, so far -mostly European missionary- members of Latin congregations)
;''Apostolic Prefects of Morondava''
* Father
Joseph-Paul Futy,
LaSalette Missionaries (M.S.) (born France) (1938 – 1947.02.13); later
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 ...
of
Aspendus
Aspendos or Aspendus (Pamphylian Greek, Pamphylian: ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ; Ancient Greek, Attic: Ἄσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. The site is located 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya.
It ...
(1947.02.13 – death 1956.08.12) as
Apostolic Vicar
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...
of
Antsirabe (Madagascar) (1947.02.13 – retired 1955.03)
* Father Stefano Garon, M.S. (1947.07.04 – death 1954)
* Father
Paul J. Girouard, M.S. (born USA) (1954 – 1955.09.14 ''see below'').
;'' Suffragan Bishops of Morondava''
*
Paul J. Girouard, M.S. (''see above'' 1955.09.14 – death 1964.02.18)
*
Bernard Charles Ratsimamotoana, M.S. (1964.09.29 – retired 1998.08.08), died 2005
*
Donald Joseph Leo Pelletier, M.S. (born USA) (1999.10.15 - retired 2010.02.26)
*
Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina,
Teresian Carmelites (O.C.D.) (2010.02.26 - ...), also Vice-President of Episcopal Conference of Madagascar (2012? – ...).
See also
*
List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Madagascar {{short description, None
The Roman Catholic Church in East Africa's major Indian Ocean island state Madagascar comprises only a Latin hierarchy, which is composed of five ecclesiastical provinces, whose Metropolitan Archbisdhoprics have a total of ...
*
Roman Catholicism in Madagascar
The Catholic Church in Madagascar is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
About one quarter of the population of Madagascar is Catholic – about four million adherents in total. There are 21 ...
Sources and external links
GCatholic.org
Roman Catholic dioceses in Madagascar
Christian organizations established in 1938
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
1938 establishments in Madagascar
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Toliara
{{Africa-RC-diocese-stub