Roman Catholic Diocese of Laghouat
| Diocese of Laghouat Dioecesis Laghuatensis | |
|---|---|
 Map of the Diocese of Laghouat (Shown in yellow encompassing all of southern Algeria) | |
| Location | |
| Country | Algeria |
| Ecclesiastical province | Immediately subject to the Holy See |
| Metropolitan | Laghouat |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 2,107,708 km2 (813,791 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 4,324,000 1,200 (0.0%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Roman |
| Established | July 19, 1901 |
| Secular priests | 11 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop |
Claude Jean Narcisse Rault, M. Afr. Bishop of Laghouat |
| Website | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Laghouat (Latin: Dioecesis Laghuatensis) is a Latin diocese covering the sparsely populated Saharan inland of Algeria, in North Africa.
It is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province.
Its episcopal see is the Pro-Cathedral in Ghardaïa, but it also had a former Cathedral (now secularized): Ex-church of Saint-Hilarion, in the eponymous city of Laghouat.
History
- Established on July 19, 1901 as Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Sahara and Sudan (now the Archdiocese of Bamako in present Mali), also a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction.
- January 10, 1921: Renamed as Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa in the Sahara (or in Italian Ghardaïa nel Sahara
- June 10, 1948: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Ghardaïa in the Sahara, hence entitled to a titular bishop
- On 1954.07.05, it lost western territory to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni (now of Western Sahara)
- September 14, 1955: Promoted as Diocese of Laghouat
Ordinaries
(all Roman rite; so far all missionaries, notably European members of a Latin congregation, the White Fathers (M. Afr.)
- Apostolic Prefects of Ghardaïa
- Apostolic Administrator Cardinal Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie (1891.03.13 – 1892.11.25), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Algiers (Algeria) (1867.03.27 – 1892.11.25)
- Fr. Charles Guérin (1901 – death 1910)
- Fr. Henry Bardou (1911 – death 1916)
- Fr. Louis David (1916 – death 1919)
- Fr. Gustave-Jean-Marie Nouet, White Fathers (M. Afr.) (1919.04.08 – 1921.01.10 see below)
- Apostolic Prefects of Ghardaïa in the Sahara
- Fr. Gustave-Jean-Marie Nouet, M. Afr. (see above 1921.01.10 – death 1941)
- Georges-Louis Mercier, M. Afr. (1941 – 1948.06.10 see below)
- Apostolic Vicar of Ghardaïa in the Sahara
- Georges-Louis Mercier, M. Afr. (see above 1948.06.10 – 1955.09.14 see below), Titular Bishop of Celerina (1948.06.21 – 1955.09.14)
- Exempt Bishops of Laghouat
- Georges-Louis Mercier, M. Afr. (see above 1955.09.14 – 1968.01.11), afterward Titular Bishop of Furnos Minor (1968.01.11 – 1976.10.13)
- Jean-Marie Michel Arthur Alix Zacharie Raimbaud, M. Afr. (1968.01.11 – death 1989.06.25)
- Michel-Joseph-Gérard Gagnon, M. Afr. (1991.02.04 – death 2004.06.01), previously Bishop of Djibouti (Djibouti) (1980.03.28 – 1987.07.03)
- Apostolic Administrator Michel Larbubu, M. Afr. (2004.04.29 – 2004.10.26)
- Claude Jean Narcisse Rault, M. Afr. (2004.10.26 - ...)
See also
Sources and External links
 |
Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article Ghardaia. |
- GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links
- Catholic Hierarchy
- Diocese of Laghouat Website (French)
Coordinates: 32°29′00″N 3°40′00″E / 32.4833°N 3.6667°E
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