https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Archdiocese_of_CalcuttaArchdiocese of Calcutta - Revision history2026-07-31T00:13:05ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Archdiocese_of_Calcutta&diff=487331&oldid=prevGreggNfb8421 at 13:56, 21 February 20262026-02-21T13:56:02Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Roman Catholic archdiocese in West Bengal, India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}<br />
{{More citations needed|date=February 2013}}<br />
{{Infobox diocese<br />
| jurisdiction = Archdiocese <br />
| name = Calcutta<br />
| latin = Archidioecesis Calcuttensis <br> কলকাতার বিশপের এলাকা<br />
| local =<br />
| image = Calcutta, Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary-2.jpg<br />
| image_size = 230px<br />
| image_alt = <br />
| caption = [[Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary]]<br />
<!---- Locations ----><br />
| country = India<br />
| territory = <br />
| province = Calcutta <br />
| metropolitan = <br />
| archdeaconries = <br />
| deaneries = <br />
| subdivisions = <br />
| coordinates = <!-- Use {{coord}} --><br />
<!---- Statistics ----><br />
| area_sqmi = 11,532 <br />
| area_footnotes = <br />
| population = 49,010,000<br />
| population_as_of = 2023<br />
| catholics = 177,354<br />
| catholics_percent = 0.4<br />
| parishes = 55<br />
| churches = <!-- Number of churches in the diocese --><br />
| congregations = <!-- Number of congregations in the diocese --><br />
| schools = <!-- Number of church supported schools in the diocese --><br />
| members = <!-- Number of members in the diocese --><br />
<!---- Information ----><br />
| denomination = [[Catholic]]<br />
| sui_iuris_church = [[Latin Church]] <br />
| rite = [[Roman Rite]] <br />
| established = {{start date and age|18 April 1834}}<br />
| cathedral = [[Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary]]<br />
| cocathedral = <br />
| patron = [[St Francis Xavier]],<ref name=nvpavq>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=32646 |title=Mother Teresa named co-patron of Calcutta archdiocese &#124; News Headlines |publisher=Catholic Culture |date= |accessdate=2020-02-26 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905211133/http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=32646 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mother Teresa|St Teresa of Calcutta]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/vatican-declares-mother-teresa-patron-saint-calcutta-49651357|title=Vatican declares Mother Teresa a patron saint of Calcutta|author=Manik Banerjee|date=6 September 2017|publisher=Associated Press, ABC News.com|accessdate=6 September 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906160015/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/vatican-declares-mother-teresa-patron-saint-calcutta-49651357|archivedate=6 September 2017}}</ref><br />
| patron_title = <!-- Use to override the default label "Patron saint" --><br />
| priests = <!-- Number of priests in the diocese --><br />
<!---- Current leadership ----><br />
| pope = {{Incumbent pope}} <!-- DO NOT CHANGE. This will update the Popes Automatically as they change --><br />
| patriarch = <br />
| bishop_title = Archbishop<br />
| metro_archbishop = [[Elias Frank]] <br />
| suffragans = <br />
| auxiliary_bishops = <!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of consecration) --><br />
| apostolic_admin = <br />
| vicar_general = <br />
| episcopal_vicar =<br />
| archdeacons = <!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of first collation); use | archdeacon = for one--><br />
| emeritus_bishops = [[Thomas D'Souza]]<br />
<!---- Map ----><br />
| map = <br />
| map_size = <br />
| map_alt = <br />
| map_caption = <br />
<!---- Website ----><br />
| website = [http://www.archdioceseofcalcutta.in/ Website of the Archdiocese] <br />
| footnotes = <br />
}}<br />
The '''Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta''' ({{langx|la|Archidioecesis Calcuttensis}}) is an ecclesiastical [[Latin Church]] territory of the [[Catholic Church]] in [[India]].<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
The archdiocese was originally erected as the '''[[Apostolic vicariate|Apostolic Vicariate]] of [[Bengal]]''' in 1834 by [[Pope Gregory XVI]], and renamed as the '''Apostolic Vicariate of [[West Bengal|Western Bengal]]''' in 1850 by Gregory's successor, [[Pope Pius IX]].<br />
<br />
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 bishop|metropolitan archdiocese]] and renamed as the "Archdiocese of Calcutta".<br />
<br />
Over the course of times the archdiocese was frequently divided and new metropolitan provinces were created: [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi|Ranchi]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guwahati|Guwahati]] and [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Patna|Patna]]. {{As of|2020|}}, the metropolitan province of Calcutta covers the state of [[West Bengal]]. The [[Suffragan bishop|suffragan sees]] are: [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Asansol|Asansol]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Bagdogra|Bagdogra]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Baruipur|Baruipur]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Darjeeling|Darjeeling]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalpaiguri|Jalpaiguri]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Krishnagar|Krishnagar]] and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Raiganj|Raiganj]].<br />
<br />
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 [[Bandel Church|Basilica of the Holy Rosary]], in [[Bandel]] - a former Portuguese settlement - some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of [[Kolkata]].<br />
<br />
The current archbishop of Calcutta is [[Elias Frank]], having been appointed by [[Pope Leo XIV]] on 20 September 2025.<br />
<br />
==Territory==<br />
The archdiocese of Calcutta currently covers the Districts of [[Bankura district|Bankura]], [[Howrah district|Howrah]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]], [[Kolkata district|Kolkata]], [[Paschim Medinipur district|Paschim Medinipur]], [[Purba Medinipur district|Purba Medinipur]] and [[North 24 Parganas]] in the state of [[West Bengal]].<br />
<br />
==List of Ordinaries of Calcutta==<br />
<br />
===Apostolic vicars of Bengal===<br />
* 1834 - 1838 : Robert Saint–Leger<br />
* 1838 - 1840 : [[Jean-Louis Taberd]]<br />
* 1840 - 1850 : [[Patrick Joseph Carew]]<br />
<br />
===Apostolic vicars of West Bengal===<br />
Source:<ref name=catholic-hierarchy>(en) [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dcalc.html "Past and Present Ordinaries"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328191417/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dcalc.html |date=28 March 2019 }}, Archdiocese of Calcutta, ''Catholic Hierarchy''. Retrieved 2 February 2012</ref><br />
* 1850 - 1855 : Patrick Joseph Carew<br />
* 1855 - 1859 : Marc-Thomas Olliffe<br />
* 1858 - 1864 : ''Sede vacante'' (''Auguste Goiran, Administrator'')<br />
* 1864 - 1865 : Augustus van Heule<br />
* 1865 - 1867 : ''Sede vacante'' (''Honoré van der Stuyft,'' ''Administrator'')<br />
* 1867 - 1877 : [[Walter Steins|Walter Herman Jacobus Steins]]<br />
* 1877 - 1886 : [[Paul Goethals|Paul François Marie Goethals]]<br />
<br />
===Archbishops of Calcutta===<br />
Source:<ref name=catholic-hierarchy/><br />
* 1886 - 1901 : [[Paul Goethals|Paul François Marie Goethals]]<br />
* 1902 - 1924 : [[Brice Meuleman]]<br />
* 1924 - 1960 : [[Ferdinand Perier]]<br />
* 1960 - 1962 : Vivian Anthony Dyer<br />
* 1962 - 1969 : Albert Vincent D'Souza<br />
* 1969 - 1986 : [[Lawrence Picachy|Lawrence Trevor Cardinal Picachy]]<br />
* 1986 - 2002 : [[Henry Sebastian D'Souza]]<br />
* 2002 - 2012 : [[Lucas Sirkar]]<br />
* 2012 - 2025 : [[Thomas D'Souza]]<br />
* 2025 - Pres : [[Elias Frank]]<br />
<br />
==Saints and causes for canonisation==<br />
* St. [[Teresa of Calcutta]] lived and served in Calcutta.<ref name="CCBI">{{cite web|url=http://ccbi.in/saints-blessed/|title=Saints & Blessed – CCBI|accessdate=Oct 17, 2019|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218103142/http://ccbi.in/saints-blessed/|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[Catholic Ecclesiastical Provinces in India]]<br />
*[[Diocese of Calcutta of the Church of North India]]<br />
*[[Roman Catholicism in India]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.archdioceseofcalcutta.in/deaneries-kol.html Archdiocese of Calcutta]<br />
*[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dcalc.html Catholic-Hierarchy]<br />
*[http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/calc0.htm GCatholic.org]<br />
*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Archdiocese of Calcutta}}<br />
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[[Category:Christianity in Kolkata]]<br />
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1834|Calcutta]]<br />
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses in India|Calcutta]]<br />
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century|Calcutta]]<br />
[[Category:1834 establishments in India]]</div>GreggNfb8421