Archdiocese of Bombay Archidioecesis Bombayensis |
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Location | |
Country | India |
Territory | Maharashtra |
Ecclesiastical province | Bombay |
Metropolitan | Bombay |
Coordinates | 18°55′24″N 72°49′50″E / 18.923457°N 72.830646°ECoordinates: 18°55′24″N 72°49′50″E / 18.923457°N 72.830646°E |
Statistics | |
Area | 10,103 km2 (3,901 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2012) 20,399,000 525,017 (2,6%) |
Parishes | 122 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Latin Rite |
Established | 1 September 1886 |
Cathedral | Cathedral of the Holy Name, Mumbai |
Patron saint | St Gonsalo Garcia |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Oswald Gracias |
Auxiliary Bishops |
Dominic Savio Fernandes John Rodrigues |
Emeritus Bishops |
Percival Joseph Fernandez Bosco Penha Agnelo Rufino Gracias |
Website | |
archdioceseofbombay.org |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay (or Mumbai) is a Latin particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in central India's state of Maharashtra. The archdiocese has been a Metropolitan see since its elevation by Pope Leo XIII on 1 September 1886.
Its cathedral episcopal see is the Cathedral of the Holy Name, in Bombay (Mumbai). It also has a Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount (Mount Mary Church), in Bandra.
As of 2006, the archdiocese had 277 diocesan priests, 283 religious priests, 383 male religious orders and 1,530 female religious orders. The archdiocese serves a total of 506,976 Catholics in 121 parishes scattered across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (formerly Bombay).
The current archbishop is Oswald Gracias, who was appointed on 14 October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Portuguese first reached the west coast of India when Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498. They finally established themselves at Goa in 1510. In 1526, they established a factory in Bassein. In 1534, the islands of Bassein, Salsette, Bombay and Karanja were ceded to the Portuguese by Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. In this very year, the Archdiocese of Goa was created and the whole of the western coast around Bombay formed part of that archdiocese. Missionary activities in Bassein (Burma), Salsette and Bombay commenced from 1534 onwards, thus laying the foundation of the future Archdiocese of Bombay. The Portuguese missionaries who accompanied the conquerors were the Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans and Augustinians.