Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe
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Diocese of São Tomé e Príncipe Dioecesis Sancti Thomae in Insula |
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| Location | |
| Country | São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Metropolitan | Immediately subject to the Holy See |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,001 km2 (386 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 138,000 121,931 (88.4%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Manuel António Mendes dos Santos |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe (Latin: Sancti Thomae in Insula) is a diocese, immediately subject to the Holy See, with its seat in the city of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe.
The diocese was establsihed on November 3, 1534 as the Diocese of Tomé from Metropolitan Archdiocese of Funchal in Portugal. The diocese once included the Portuguese controlled or Christian areas of the south of Africa all the way to present day South Africa and Mozambique. In 20 May 1596, a part of today's Angola became the Diocese of Angola and Congo what is now the Archdiocese of Luanda. On 21 January 1612, all of the eastern coastal areas that is modern day Mozambique became the Apostolic Adminstration of Mozambique which is now the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maputo. As it once included Cape Town, from the Dutch takeover in the mid 17th century, a part of the diocese was under that control, later a part was under French and British control during and after the Napoleonic Wars. On 8 June 1818, a part of the diocese separated and became the Apostolic Vicariate of Good Hope which is now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth. On 22 January 1842, parts of the diocese compromising coastal Gabon which included parts in other European control became the Apostolic Vicariate of the Two Guineas and Senegambia which is now the Archdiocese of Libreville.
In 1924, the diocese was renamed as Diocese of São Tomé. Later in 1957 it was renamed to its current name of the Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe.
The cathedral is Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Graça (Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace) in São Tomé.
Coordinates: 0°20′26″N 6°44′05″E / 0.3406°N 6.7346°E
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