Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan explained

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan (Latin: Abidianen(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.

History

• June 28, 1895: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Costa d'Avorio from the Apostolic Prefecture of Gold Coast in Ghana
• November 17, 1911: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Costa d'Avorio
• April 9, 1940: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Abidjan
• September 14, 1955: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Abidjan

Special churches

The seat of the archbishop is St. Paul's Cathedral in Abidjan.

Bishops

• Prefect Apostolic of Ivory Coast (Latin Rite)
  • Fr. Jules-Joseph Moury, S.M.A. (18 January 1910 – 17 January 1911); see below
• Vicars Apostolic of Ivory Coast (Latin Rite)
  • Jules-Joseph Moury, S.M.A. (17 January 1911 – 29 March 1935); see above
  • François Person, S.M.A. (9 December 1935 – 8 July 1938)
  • Jean-Baptiste Boivin, S.M.A. (15 March 1939 – 9 April 1940); see below
• Vicar Apostolic of Abidjan (Latin Rite)
  • Jean-Baptiste Boivin, S.M.A. (9 April 1940 – 14 September 1955); see above & below
• Metropolitan Archbishops of Abidjan (Latin Rite)
  • Jean-Baptiste Boivin, S.M.A. (1955.09.14 – 1959.06.10); see above
  • Bernard Yago (1960.04.05 – 1994.12.19); Cardinal in 1983
  • Bernard Agré (1994.12.19 – 2006.05.02); Cardinal in 2001
  • Jean-Pierre Kutwa (since 2006.05.02); Cardinal in 2014

Auxiliary bishops

• Laurent Yapi (1970-1979), appointed Bishop of Abengourou
• Paul Dacoury-Tabley (1979-1994), appointed Bishop of Grand-Bassam
• Joseph Yapo Aké (2001-2006), appointed Bishop of Yamoussoukro

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

• Bernard Agré, appointed Bishop of Man in 1968; later returned here as Archbishop; future Cardinal

Suffragan dioceses

• Agboville
• Grand-Bassam
• Yopougon

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Côte d'Ivoire
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Côte d'Ivoire

Sources

• GCatholic.org

References

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