Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania
The Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church .
history
The first missionaries took place from 1499 after Vasco da Gama arrived in Zanzibar by Portuguese Augustinian fathers. First Spiritans , later the White Fathers , supported by Pope Leo XIII. , were heavily involved in Tanzania in the 19th century. Benedictines of the Archabbey of Sankt Ottilien reached Dar es Salaam in 1887 and founded the Apostolic Prefecture “Southern Zanguebar” in 1887 (from 1953 Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam ); In 1888 the Benedictines founded an abbey in Peramiho and in 1906 an abbey in Ndanda . In 1925 the first seminary was founded in Kipalapala near Tabora .
Pope Pius XII appointed Laurean Rugambwa first native bishop in 1951 ; Rugambwa was founded in 1960 by Pope John XXIII. appointed cardinal priest.
church
In Tanzania, around 1/3 of the total population are members of the Catholic Church, i.e. 14 million Catholics. There are 33 dioceses and archdioceses that are united in the Bishops' Conference of Tanzania (Tanzania Episcopal Conference TEC). The chairman of the TEC is the Bishop of Iringa , Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa .
Representative of the Holy See in Tanzania - the Apostolic Nuncio - since April 2017 Archbishop Marek Solczyński .
The liturgical language is English ; Swahili has been the national language since 1967 .
Dioceses
- Archdiocese of Arusha
- Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam
- Archdiocese of Dodoma
- Archdiocese of Mbeya
- Archdiocese of Mwanza
- Archdiocese of Songea
- Archdiocese of Tabora
See also
Web links
- Entry on Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania on catholic-hierarchy.org
- Catholic Church in Tanzania: Facts and Figures , Network Africa, accessed January 5, 2009
- Website of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference TEC (English)