Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis
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Archdiocese of Tunis Archidioecesis Tunetanus |
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|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Tunisia |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 62,632 sq mi (162,220 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
10,955,000 (number unknown) (1%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Cathedral | St Vincent de Paul |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Ilario Antoniazzi |
| Website | |
| diocesetunisie.com | |
The Archdiocese of Tunis was founded on 10 November 1884 under the name "Archdiocese of Carthage", with territory corresponding to that of the then French protectorate of Tunisia. On 9 July 1964, it became a territorial prelature, with the name "Prelature of Tunis". It was made a diocese, keeping the name of Tunis, on 31 May 1995, and raised to the rank of archdiocese on 22 May 2010.
In 1684, Pope Urban VIII established an apostolic prefecture at Tunis for Ottoman Tunisia, which Pope Gregory XVI raised to the rank of an apostolic vicariate in 1843.
In 1881, Tunisia became a French protectorate, and in the same year Charles Lavigerie, who was archbishop of Algiers, became apostolic administrator of the vicariate of Tunis. In the following year, Lavigerie became a cardinal. He "saw himself as the reviver of the ancient Christian Church of Africa, the Church of Cyprian of Carthage", and, on 10 November 1884, was successful in his great ambition of having the metropolitan see of Carthage restored, with himself as its first archbishop. In 1053, Pope Leo IX settled a dispute about primacy in the Roman province of Africa between the bishops of Carthage and Gummi by declaring that, after the Bishop of Rome, the first archbishop and chief metropolitan of the whole of Africa is the bishop of Carthage nor can he, for the benefit of any bishop in the whole of Africa, lose the privilege received once for all from the holy Roman and apostolic see, but he will hold it until the end of the world as long as the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is invoked there, whether Carthage lie desolate or whether it some day rise glorious again." In line with this, Pope Leo XIII acknowledged the revived Archdiocese of Carthage as the primatial see of Africa and Lavigerie as primate. (The statement by Auguste Boudinhon that the acknowledgement was made in 1893, the year after Lavigerie's death, if not mistaken, is a reference to some renewed recognition.) From then until 1964, the Annuario Pontificio presented the see of Carthage as "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see of Proconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as archbishopric 10 November 1884".
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