Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda

The Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church under the spiritual guidance of the Pope and the Curia in Rome . It covers the national territory of Rwanda .

history

Pope Pius XI founded the Apostolic Vicariate of Rwanda on April 25, 1922 from cession of territory by the Apostolic Vicariate of Kivu . On February 14, 1952, it took the name of the Apostolic Vicariate of Kabgayi . With the Apostolic Constitution Cum parvulum it was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan Archbishopric on November 10, 1959 .

As early as February 14, 1952, the territory of the Archdiocese of Kabgayi had become the Apostolic Vicariate Nyundo , followed by the Diocese of Ruhengeri on December 20, 1960, the Astrida diocese on September 11, 1961 and the Kibungo diocese on September 5, 1968 .

With the establishment of the Archdiocese of Kigali on April 10, 1976 as the Metropolitan Diocese of Rwanda, the Archdiocese of Kabgayi was finally downgraded to a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Kigali.

Dioceses

• Archdiocese of Kigali (Metropolitan Diocese) with the Suffragan Dioceses:
  • Diocese of Butare
  • Byumba diocese
  • Diocese of Cyangugu
  • Diocese of Gikongoro
  • Diocese of Kabgayi
  • Diocese of Kibungo
  • Diocese of Nyundo
  • Diocese of Ruhengeri

Share in the population

According to the Annuario Pontificio, the proportion of Roman Catholic believers was between 32.5% (Diocese of Kibungo) and 62.3% (Diocese of Kabgayi) of the population in 2016 . In the national average of Rwanda, the proportion of Catholics was around 55%.

Web links

• Entry on Rwanda on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on October 8, 2019.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry on the Diocese of Kibungo on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on October 8, 2019.
2. ↑ Entry on the Diocese of Kabgayi on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on October 8, 2019.