Ecclesiastical province Calcutta Established 18 April 1834 Phone 033 2280 7015 | Denomination Roman Catholic Area 29,868 km² Metropolitan archbishop Thomas D’Souza | |
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Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2006)31,152,686145,246 (0.5%) Similar St Thomas Church, Christ The King Church, Archbish House, St Paul's Cathedral, Cathedral of The Most Holy Ros Profiles | ||
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta (Latin: Archidioecesis Calcuttensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in India.
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History
The Archdiocese was originally erected as the Apostolic Vicariate of Bengal in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI, and renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Bengal in 1850 by Gregory's successor, Pope Pius IX.
On September 1, 1886, when the Catholic hierarchy was created in British India by Pope Leo XIII, the Vicariate was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese and renamed as the “Archdiocese of Calcutta”.
Over the course of times the Archdiocese was frequently divided and new metropolitan provinces were created : Ranchi, Guwahati, and Patna. At the beginning of the 21st century, the metropolitan province of Calcutta covers only the state of West Bengal. The suffragan sees are : Asansol, Bagdogra, Baruipur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Krishnagar, and Raiganj.
The archdiocese's cathedral, the seat of its archbishop, is the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary, commonly called the “Portuguese Church”. Calcutta also houses the oldest Catholic church in the area, the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, in Bandel - a former Portuguese settlement - some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of Kolkata.
The current Archbishop of Calcutta is His Excellency Thomas D'Souza, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on February 23, 2012.
Territory
The Archdiocese of Calcutta currently covers the Districts of Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur and North 24 Parganas in the State of West Bengal.