Archbishopric: | Dhaka |
Border: | catholic |
Coat Caption: | The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Dhaka |
Incumbent: | Bejoy Nicephorus D'Cruze |
Established: | 1850 (apostolic vicariate) 1886 (bishopric) 1950 (archbishopric) |
Cathedral: | St. Mary's Cathedral |
Archdiocese: | Dhaka |
The Archbishop of Dhaka is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompassing nearly all of the Dhaka Division,[1] [2] the Archbishop of Dhaka also administers the bishops who head the suffragan dioceses of Dinajpur, Mymensingh, Rajshahi and Sylhet.[3] The current archbishop is Bejoy Nicephorus D'Cruze.[4] [5]
The archdiocese began as the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Bengal, which was created on February 12, 1850.[6] Thomas Oliffe was appointed its first vicar. On September 1, 1886, the vicariate was elevated to the status of diocese by Pope Leo XIII. It was renamed as the Diocese of Dacca after its see in 1887. Augustin Louage was appointed its first bishop. On account of the population increase, the Holy See decided to elevate the diocese to the status of archdiocese on July 15, 1950. Lawrence Leo Graner became the first archbishop of the newly formed metropolitan see.
Six men have been Archbishop of Dhaka; another Five were bishop of its predecessor diocese.[7] One of them was elevated to the College of Cardinals.[8] Theotonius Amal Ganguly, the eleventh ordinary of the archdiocese, was the first archbishop to be born in the Bangladesh, as well as the first born in Dhaka.[9] Patrick D’Rozario became the first cardinal from Bangladesh in 2016. Michael Rozario had the longest tenure as Archbishop of Dhaka, serving for 28 years from 1977 to 2005,[10] while Louage held the position for 42 months (1890–1894), marking the shortest episcopacy.
Denotes archbishop who was elevated to the College of Cardinals | ||
CSC | Congregation of Holy Cross | |
---|---|---|
OMI | Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate | |
OSB | Order of Saint Benedict |
From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | Ref(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1850 | 1855 | Appointed on February 15, 1850. Transferred to Western Bengal on November 2, 1855. | [11] | ||
1855 | 1860 | , | Appointed Pro apostolic vicar on June 6, 1856. | ||
1860 | 1876 | , | Appointed on July 3, 1860. Resigned on July 28, 1876. | [12] [13] | |
1878 | 1886 | , | Appointed on April 5, 1878. Died on March 1, 1890. | [14] |
From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | Ref(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1890 | 1894 | , | Appointed on November 21, 1890. Died on June 8, 1894. | [15] | |
1894 | 1909 | , | Appointed on June 26, 1894. Resigned on February 15, 1909. | [16] [17] | |
1909 | 1915 | , | Appointed on February 13, 1909. Died on July 21, 1915. | ||
1916 | 1929 | , | Appointed on August 16, 1916. Retired on November 9, 1929. Died on April 10, 1937 | [18] | |
1929 | 1945 | , | Coadjutor bishop from 1927 to 1929. Died on October 2, 1945. | [19] | |
1947 | 1950 | , | Appointed on February 13, 1947 |
From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | Ref(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | 1967 | , | Became the first Archbishop of Dhaka on July 15, 1950. Resigned on November 23, 1967. Died on April 21, 1982 | ||
1967 | 1977 | , | Auxiliary bishop from 1960 to 1965. Coadjutor archbishop from 1965 to 1967. Appointed on November 23, 1967. First archbishop to be born in Bangladesh and in Dhaka. Died on September 2, 1977. | ||
1977 | 2005 | Appointed on December 17, 1977. Retired on July 9, 2005. Died on March 18, 2007. | |||
2005 | 2011 | Appointed on July 9, 2005. Retired on October 22, 2011. Died on January 3, 2015. | [20] [21] | ||
2011 | 2020 | , | Coadjutor Archbishop from 2010 to 2011. Elevated to cardinal on November 19, 2016. Retired on September 30, 2020 | [22] [23] | |
2020 | present | , | Appointed on September 30, 2020. | [24] |
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