Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest

Archdiocese of Bucarest
Archidioecesis Bucarestiensis
Arhidieceza De Bucureşti
Location
Country Romania
Ecclesiastical province Bucharest
Deaneries 6
Statistics
Area 91,120 km2 (35,180 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2012)
9,779,000
92,050 (0.9%)
Parishes 83
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Roman Rite
Established 27 April 1883
Cathedral Saint Joseph Cathedral, Bucharest
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop Ioan Robu
Suffragans Diocese of Iași, Diocese of Oradea Mare, Diocese of Satu Mare, Diocese of Timişoara
Auxiliary Bishops Cornel Damian
Vicar General Cornel Damian
Episcopal Vicars Martin Cabalaș, eronim Iacob, Francisc Ungureanu
Map

Administrative map of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest, Romania was established on 27 April 1883. There had been a Catholic presence in the city since at least the 18th century, but it was only in 1847 that Bishop Josephus Molajoni was able to establish his residence there. His successor, Angelus Parsi, restored the episcopal palace, which had been destroyed by fire in 1847, and in 1852 brought to Bucharest the English Ladies, and in 1861 the Brothers of the Christian Schools. In 1863 Bishop Parsi was succeeded by Josephus Pluym, from 1869 Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople, who in turn was followed by Ignatius Paoli. After the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania in 1881, a movement was initiated by the government to release the Catholic subjects from dependence on a foreign bishop, and negotiations were begun with Rome. Two years later, Pope Leo XIII raised to an archdiocese the Apostolic Vicariate of Wallachia, with Bucharest as residence.

In addition to Bucharest, the archdiocese covers the rest of Wallachia (Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobrudja)the counties of Mehedinţi, Gorj, Dolj, Vâlcea, Olt, Argeş, Teleorman, Dâmboviţa, Giurgiu, Prahova, Ilfov, Buzău, Ialomiţa, Călăraşi, Brăila, Tulcea and Constanţa, of which 0.9% are Roman Catholic, with the largest number of parishes in Bucharest. Its adherents are predominantly Romanian. It is directly subordinate to the Vatican. Its archbishop since 1990 has been Ioan Robu, previously bishop since 1984.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.

External links

Coordinates: 44°26′32″N 26°05′29″E / 44.4421°N 26.0913°E