Diocese of Ziqua explained

Diocese of Ziqua is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church in North Africa.

Ziqua was an ancient Roman town of classical antiquity, in Roman North Africa, during the Roman Empire.^{[1] [2] [3]}

It was on the road from the port at Neopolis to Thabbora in the hinterland, and is today identified with ruins at Henchir-Belaiet in Tunisia, and has given its name to the town of Zaghouan nearby.^{[4] [5] [6]}

The ancient town was located at 36.393555, 10.1390015 and flourished from 330 BC – AD 640, with the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb.The town was the cathedra of a bishopric.^[7] which survives today as a titular bishopric of the Catholic province of Proconsolare; with Silvio José Báez Ortega of Nicaragua as the current bishop.^[8]

The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin Titular bishopric of Zica (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Zicen(sis) (Latin adjective).

It has had the following incumbents, of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank, with an archiepiscopal exception:

• Titular Archbishop: Marius-Félix-Antoine Maziers (1966.01.24 – 1968.02.05) as Coadjutor Archbishop of Bordeaux (France) (1966.01.24 – 1968.02.05); next Metropolitan Archbishop of Bordeaux (France) (1968.02.05 – retired 1989.05.31), died 2008; previously Titular Bishop of Augustopolis in Phrygia (1959.12.17 – 1966.01.24) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Lyon (France) (1959.12.17 – 1966.01.24)
• Christopher Mwoleka (1969.03.06 – 1969.06.26) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Rulenge (Tanzania) (1969.03.06 – succession 1969.06.26); next Bishop of Rulenge (1969.06.26 – 1996.11.08), died 2002
• Joachim Mbadu Kikhela Kupika (1975.01.30 – 1975.11.22) as Coadjutor Bishop of Boma (Congo-Kinshasa) (1975.01.30 – 1975.11.22); next Bishop of Boma (1975.11.22 – retired 2001.05.21), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Belesasa (2001.05.21 – ...)
• Francisco Capiral San Diego (1983.06.06 – 1995.07.12)
• Luigi Locati (1995.12.15 – 2005.07.14)
• Silvio José Báez Ortega, OCD (2009.04.09 – ...) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Managua (Nicaragua) (2009.04.09 – ...)

Notes and References

1. R.B. Hitchner, Ziqua, Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places, 2016.
2. Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 32 F4 Ziqua.
3. http://imperium.ahlfeldt.se/places/21601.html Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
4. http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Ziqua.html Zaghouan
5. http://tunisie-antique.com/ziqua-zaghouan/ziqua-01.html The ancient city of ZIQUA
6. Web site: Siti archeologici africani: Ziqua.
7. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2z24.html Diocese of Zica
8. Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 198, Number 16,181.