The Roman Catholic Diocese of Atambua ( la, Atambuen(sis)) is a Latin

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 ...

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 the Metropolitan of

Kupang Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...

, in Indonesia, yet still dependent of the Roman

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 ''Katedral Santa Maria Imakulata'' (dedicated to Mary Immaculate) located in the city of

Atambua Atambua is the regency seat of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The town stretches as far as 8.5 km from north to south and 5 km from east to west, and is located in the north of the western half of Timor Island. The town is ...

History

* Established on 25 May 1936 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Dutch Timor, on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Lesser Sunda Islands * Renamed on 11 November 1948 after its see as Apostolic Vicariate of Atambua. * Promoted 3 January 1961 as Diocese of Atambua, yet still missionary. * Lost territory on 13 April 1967 to establish the then Diocese of Kupang, now its Metropolitan.

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 ...

, till 2007 members of a Latin missionary congregation)'' ;'' Apostolic Vicar of Dutch Timor'' * Jacques Pessers,

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Ri ...

(S.V.D.) (June 1, 1937 – November 11, 1948 ''see below''),

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 Candyba (1937.06.01 – 1961.04.03) ;'' Apostolic Vicars of Atambua'' * Jacques Pessers, S.V.D. (''see above'' November 11, 1948 – January 3, 1961 ''see below'') * Theodorus van den Tillaart, S.V.D. (November 14, 1957 – January 3, 1961 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of (1957.11.14 – 1961.01.03) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Atambua'' * Jacques Pessers, S.V.D. (''see above'' January 3, 1961 – death April 3, 1961) * Theodorus van den Tillaart, S.V.D. (''see above'' January 3, 1961 – retired February 3, 1984) *

Anton Pain Ratu Anton Pain Ratu (2 January 1929 – 6 January 2024) was an Indonesian Roman Catholic prelate who was auxiliary bishop of Atambua from 1982 to 1984 and bishop of Atambua from 1984 to 2007. Ratu died in Atambua Atambua is the regency seat of Bel ...

, S.V.D. (February 3, 1984 – retired June 2, 2007), previously Titular Bishop of (1982.04.02 – 1984.02.03) & Auxiliary Bishop of Atambua (1982.04.02 – 1984.02.03) * Dominikus Saku (June 2, 2007 – ...)

Sources and external links

Official website

Roman Catholic dioceses in Indonesia Christian organizations established in 1936 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub