Archdiocese of Calcutta
Roman Catholic archdiocese in West Bengal, India

Archdiocese of Calcutta

Archidioecesis Calcuttensis
কলকাতার বিশপের এলাকা
Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary
Location
Country India
Ecclesiastical provinceCalcutta
Statistics
Area11,532 sq mi (29,870 km2)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2023)
  • 49,010,000
  • 177,354 (0.4%)
Parishes55
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established18 April 1834; 191 years ago (18 April 1834)
CathedralCathedral of the Most Holy Rosary
Patron saintSt Francis Xavier,[1] St Teresa of Calcutta[2]
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
Metropolitan ArchbishopElias Frank
Bishops emeritusThomas D'Souza
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta (Latin: Archidioecesis Calcuttensis) is an ecclesiastical Latin Church territory of the Catholic Church in India.

History

The archdiocese was originally erected as the Apostolic Vicariate of Bengal in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI, and renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Bengal in 1850 by Gregory's successor, Pope Pius IX.

On 1 September 1886, when the Catholic hierarchy was created in British India by Pope Leo XIII, the vicariate was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese and renamed as the "Archdiocese of Calcutta".

Over the course of times the archdiocese was frequently divided and new metropolitan provinces were created: Ranchi, Guwahati and Patna. As of 2020[update], the metropolitan province of Calcutta covers the state of West Bengal. The suffragan sees are: Asansol, Bagdogra, Baruipur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Krishnagar and Raiganj.

The archdiocese's cathedral, the seat of its archbishop, is the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary, commonly called the "Portuguese Church". Calcutta also houses the oldest Catholic church in the area, the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, in Bandel - a former Portuguese settlement - some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of Kolkata.

The current archbishop of Calcutta is Elias Frank, having been appointed by Pope Leo XIV on 20 September 2025.

Territory

The archdiocese of Calcutta currently covers the Districts of Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur and North 24 Parganas in the state of West Bengal.

List of Ordinaries of Calcutta

Apostolic vicars of Bengal

Apostolic vicars of West Bengal

Source:[3]

  • 1850 - 1855 : Patrick Joseph Carew
  • 1855 - 1859 : Marc-Thomas Olliffe
  • 1858 - 1864 : Sede vacante (Auguste Goiran, Administrator)
  • 1864 - 1865 : Augustus van Heule
  • 1865 - 1867 : Sede vacante (Honoré van der Stuyft, Administrator)
  • 1867 - 1877 : Walter Herman Jacobus Steins
  • 1877 - 1886 : Paul François Marie Goethals

Archbishops of Calcutta

Source:[3]

Saints and causes for canonisation

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mother Teresa named co-patron of Calcutta archdiocese | News Headlines". Catholic Culture. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  2. ^ Manik Banerjee (6 September 2017). "Vatican declares Mother Teresa a patron saint of Calcutta". Associated Press, ABC News.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b (en) "Past and Present Ordinaries" Archived 28 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Archdiocese of Calcutta, Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 2 February 2012
  4. ^ "Saints & Blessed – CCBI". Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  • Archdiocese of Calcutta
  • Catholic-Hierarchy
  • GCatholic.org
  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Archdiocese of Calcutta" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

22°34′N 88°21′E / 22.567°N 88.350°E / 22.567; 88.350

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