Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kinshasa


The Archdiocese of Kinshasa is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the capital city of Kinshasa and surrounding districts. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa. The current archbishop is Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
Established as the Apostolic Vicariate of the Belgian Congo by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, it was raised to the status of an archdiocese in 1959. In 1966, its name was changed from the Archdiocese of Léopoldville to the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. Today, the archdiocese covers a territory of 8,500 km2 and, as of 2016, has a total population of 11,323,000, of whom 6,378,000 are Catholic. The archdiocese is served by 1,208 priests, including 238 diocesan priests and 970 religious priests, 1,661 male religious, and 1,982 religious sisters. The archdiocese has 143 parishes, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo in Kinshasa.

History

The archdiocese was established on 22 November 1886 as the Mission sui iuris of the Belgian Congo, from territory taken from both the Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Congo and the Apostolic Vicariate of Two Guineas. It was promoted on 11 May 1888 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Belgian Congo. Over time, it lost territory repeatedly: to establish the Mission sui juris of Kwango on 18 April 1892, the Apostolic Prefecture of Uélé on 12 May 1898, the Mission sui juris of Kasaï Supérieur on 26 July 1901, the Apostolic Prefecture of Stanley Falls on 3 August 1904, the Apostolic Prefecture of Ubangui Belge on 7 April 1911, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Matadi and the Apostolic Prefecture of Northern Katanga on 1 July 1911.
On 3 April 1919, it was renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville. It lost territory several times more: to establish the Mission sui juris of Bikoro on 3 January 1931, the Apostolic Vicariate of Boma on 26 February 1934, the Apostolic Prefecture of Kole on 14 June 1951, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Inongo on 29 June 1953. It was elevated on 10 November 1959 as the Archdiocese of Léopoldville, when the city was soon to become the national capital of the newly independent Republic of the Congo. It was renamed the Archdiocese of Kinshasa on 30 May 1966, when the city's name was changed from Léopoldville to Kinshasa. The archdiocese was visited by Pope John Paul II in May 1980 and again in August 1985.

Bishops

Ordinaries

;Apostolic Vicars of the Belgian Congo
;Apostolic Vicars of Léopoldville
;Archbishops of Léopoldville
;Archbishops of Kinshasa
The Archdiocese of Kinshasa is the metropolitan archdiocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa, which includes the following suffragan dioceses: