Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Luanda

The Archdiocese of Luanda (Latin: Archidioecesis Luandensis) is the oldest Roman Catholic (arch)bishopric in Angola.^[1]

The Cathedral of Luanda (Cathedral of the Holy Saviour) is in Luanda and it was built in 1628. It replaced the former Antiga Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Conceição as episcopal see.

History

The diocese was founded in 1596 as the Diocese of São Paulo de Loanda alias Angola e Congo (Angola in Congo), on territory split off from the then Roman Catholic Diocese of São Salvador da Congo (now Roman Catholic Diocese of Mbanza Congo.

...

It was elevated to its current form on 4 September 1940. It is based in the capital, Luanda.

Since the death of Archbishop Damião António Franklin, the 21st man to hold that position, on 28 April 2014, the seat is occupied by Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias.

Statistics

As of 2004, The archdiocese was home to approximately 4.84 million people, approximately 3.06 million of them being Roman Catholic (63.1%). There are approximately 150 priests serving the over 3 million Catholics.

List of Episcopal incumbents

(all Latin, Roman Rite) Bishops of São Paulo de Loanda/ Angola e Congo ( 1596 - 1940 )

• Miguel Rangel, O.F.M. Cap. † (20 May 1596 Appointed - 16 Aug 1602 Died)^[2]
• Antonio de Santo Estevão, O.P. † (15 Jul 1604 Appointed - Apr 1608 Died)
• Manuel Baptista Soares, O.F.M. † (4 May 1609 Appointed - Apr 1620 Died)
• Simon Mascarenhas, O.F.M. † (15 Feb 1621 Appointed - 13 Oct 1624 Died)
• Francisco do Soveral, O.S.A. † (8 Feb 1627 Appointed - 5 Jan 1642 Died)
• Pedro Sanches Farinha † (22 Jun 1671 Appointed - 3 Nov 1671 Died)
• Antonio do Espirito Santo, O.C.D. † (14 Nov 1672 Appointed - 12 Jan 1674 Died)
• Manuel da Natividade, O.F.M. † (2 Dec 1675 Appointed - 8 Dec 1685 Died)
• João Franco de Oliveira † (9 Jun 1687 Appointed - 9 Jan 1692 Appointed, Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia)
• José de Oliveira (bishop), O.S.A. † (19 Jul 1694 Appointed - 9 Sep 1700 Resigned)
• Luis Simões Brandão † (6 Feb 1702 Appointed - 24 Feb 1720 Resigned)
• Manuel a Santa Catharina, O. Carm. † (20 Mar 1720 Appointed - 1 Nov 1731 Died)
• Antônio de Nossa Senhora do Desterro Malheiro, O.S.B. † (3 Sep 1738 Appointed - 15 Dec 1745 Appointed, Bishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro)
• Manoel de Santa Ines Ferreira, O.C.D. † (15 Dec 1745 Appointed - 6 Aug 1770 Appointed, Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia)
• Luis da Anunciação Azevedo, O.P. † (17 Jun 1771 Appointed - 8 Nov 1784 Resigned)
• Alexandre da Sagrada Familia Ferreira da Silva, O.F.M. † (14 Feb 1785 Appointed - 23 Nov 1787 Resigned)
• Luiz de Brito Homem † (17 Dec 1791 Appointed - 24 May 1802 Confirmed, Bishop of São Luís do Maranhão)
• Joaquim Maria Mascarenhas Castello Branco † (20 Dec 1802 Confirmed - Apr 1807 Resigned)
• João Damasceno Da Silva Póvoas † (19 Dec 1814 Confirmed - 21 Feb 1826 Died)
• Sebastião da Anunciação Gomes de Lemos, O.C.D. † (16 Apr 1846 Confirmed - 1848 Resigned)
• Joaquim Moreira Reis, O.S.B. † (28 Sep 1849 Confirmed - 10 Mar 1857 Resigned)
• Manuel de Santa Rita Barros, T.O.R. † (23 Mar 1860 Confirmed - 3 Jan 1862 Died)
• José Lino de Oliveira † (21 Dec 1863 Appointed - 1 Jul 1871 Resigned)
• Tommaso Gomes de Almeida † (4 Aug 1871 Appointed - 22 Sep 1879 Appointed, Auxiliary Bishop of Goa)
• José Sebastião d’Almeida Neto, O.F.M. † (22 Sep 1879 Confirmed - 9 Aug 1883 Confirmed, Patriarch of Lisboa {Lisbon})
• Antonio Tomas da Silva Leitão e Castro † (27 Mar 1884 Appointed - 1 Jun 1891 Appointed, Coadjutor Bishop of Lamego)
• Antonio Dias Ferreira † (1 Jun 1891 Appointed - 7 Mar 1901 Resigned)
• Antonio José Gomes Cardoso † (23 Jul 1901 Appointed - 12 Aug 1904 Died)
• Antonio Barbosa Leão † (2 May 1906 Confirmed - 19 Dec 1907 Appointed, Bishop of Faro {Algarve})
• João Evangelista de Lima Vidal † (29 Apr 1909 Confirmed - 9 Dec 1915 Appointed, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisboa {Lisbon})
• Moisés Alves de Pinho, C.S.Sp. † (7 Apr 1932 Appointed - 17 Nov 1966 Retired)

Archbishops of Luanda (1940 - Today )

• Moisés Alves de Pinho, C.S.Sp. † (7 Apr 1932 Appointed - 17 Nov 1966 Retired)
• Manuel Nunes Gabriel † (17 Nov 1966 Succeeded - 19 Dec 1975 Resigned)
• Eduardo André Muaca † (19 Dec 1975 Succeeded - 31 Aug 1985 Resigned)
• Alexandre do Nascimento (16 Feb 1986 Appointed - 23 Jan 2001 Retired)
• Damião António Franklin † (23 Jan 2001 Appointed - 28 Apr 2014 Died)
• Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias (8 Dec 2014 Appointed - )

Suffragan dioceses

Luanda Cathedral

• Diocese of Cabinda
• Diocese of Caxito
• Diocese of Mbanza Congo
• Diocese of Sumbe
• Diocese of Viana

References

• Luanda on the Catholic Hierarchy
• GCatholic.org with incumbent biography links

Coordinates: 8°50′00″S 13°14′00″E / 8.8333°S 13.2333°E / -8.8333; 13.2333