Roman Catholic Diocese of Benguela

Diocese of Benguela

*Dioecesis Benguelensis*
Diocese of Benguela; Dioecesis Benguelensis
Location
Country	Angola
Metropolitan	Huambo
Statistics
Population; - Total; - Catholics	(as of 2020); 2,551,000; 1,985,760 (77.8%)
Parishes	68
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	6 June 1970
Cathedral	Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral, Benguela
Patron saint	Our Lady of Fatima
Secular priests	172 (2020)
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	António Francisco Jaca

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Benguela (Latin: Dioecesis Benguelensis) is a diocese located in the city of Benguela in the ecclesiastical province of Huambo in Angola. The current bishop of the diocese is António Francisco Jaca.

History

The diocese was established on 6 June 1970 as Diocese of Benguela from the Diocese of Nova Lisboa (now the Archdiocese of Huambo). It was initially a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Luanda but became a suffragan of Huambo on 3 February 1977.

It enjoyed a papal visit by Pope John Paul II on 9 June 1992.^[1]

Geography

The diocese covers the entirety of Benguela Province. It has an area of 39,823 km² and is divided into 68 parishes.

Special churches

The Cathedral of the diocese is Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral (Portuguese: Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora de Fátima) in Benguela.

Bishops

Bishops of Benguela

Armando Amaral dos Santos (6 June 1970 – 14 October 1973)
Oscar Lino Lopes Fernandes Braga (20 November 1974 – 18 February 2008)
Eugenio Dal Corso, PSDP (18 February 2008 – 26 March 2018),^[2] elevated to Cardinal in 2019
António Francisco Jaca, SVD (26 March 2018^[2] – present)

Auxiliary Bishops

Estêvão Binga (3 November 2021–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Mário Lucunde, appointed Bishop of Menongue in 2005
Emílio Sumbelelo, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Uije in 2006

References

^ "Apostolic Journey to Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (June 4-10, 1992)". Vatican.va. Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Resignations and Appointments, 26.03.2018" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2019.