The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokodé ( la, Sokoden(sis)) is a

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 associat ...

located in the city of

Sokodé Sokodé is the second largest city in Togo and seat of the Tchaoudjo and Centrale Region in the center of the country, north of Lomé. With a population of 86,500 (2004), currently at around 189,000, the city is situated between the Mo and Mo ...

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 sev ...

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...

History

* May 18, 1937: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Sokodé from the Apostolic Vicariate of Togo * September 14, 1955: Promoted as Diocese of Sokodé

Special churches

The

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 ...

is the Cathédrale Sainte Thérèse in Sokodé.

Bishops

Ordinaries

* Prefects Apostolic of Sokodé (Roman rite) ** Fr. Joseph-Paul Strebler, S.M.A. (1937.05 – 1945.11.08), appointed Vicar Apostolic of Lomé; future Archbishop ** Fr. Jérôme-Théodore Lingenheim, S.M.A. (1946.06.07 – 1955.09.14 ''see below'') *

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s of Sokodé (Roman rite) ** Bishop Jérôme-Théodore Lingenheim, S.M.A. (''-see above'' 1955.09.14 – 1964.11.18) ** Bishop

Chrétien Matawo Bakpessi Chrétien is a given name and surname. In the French language, ''Chrétien'' is the masculine form of "Christian", as noun, adjective or adverb. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Chrétien de Troyes, 12th-century French poet * ...

(1965.08.09 – 1992.04.27) ** Bishop

Ambroise Kotamba Djoliba Ambroise Kotamba Djoliba (1938 – 15 March 2024) was a Togolese Roman Catholic prelate. He was bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokodé, Sokodé from 1993 to 2016.

(1993.04.05 - 2016.01.03) ** Bishop Celestin-Marie Gaoua (2016.01.03 - )

Another priest of this diocese who became bishop

Jacques Danka Longa Jacques Danka Longa (born 26 July 1961) is the third and current Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kara, Togo. Born in Sokodé, he studied physics at the University of Lomé before entering the Grand séminaire Saint-Gall de O ...

(priest here, 1992-1994), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Kara in 2008

Sources