| Diocese of Niigata Dioecesis Niigataënsis |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Japan |
| Metropolitan | Tokyo |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 33,517 km2 (12,941 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 4,850,802 7,711 (0.2%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Cathedral | 新潟教会 (Niigata Church) |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D. |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Niigata (Latin: Niigataën(sis), Japanese: カトリック新潟教区 ) is a diocese located in the city of Niigata in the Ecclesiastical province of Tokyo in Japan.
This diocese is well known because the apparitions of Our Lady of Akita were within its territory and Bishop John Shojiro Ito from this diocese initially approved the apparitions in 1984. Our Lady of Akita was formally approved in 1988 when Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave definitive judgement on the Akita events and messages as reliable and worthy of belief.[1]
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