Pope creates new ecclesiastical
province in East Timor
Pope Francis on Wednesday created the new ecclesiastical
province of Dili in East Timor, elevating the Diocese of Dili to the rank of a
metropolitan archdiocese.
The new ecclesiastical province of Dili will have the
dioceses of Baucau and Maliana as its suffragans. At the same time, the
Pope raised Salesian Bishop Virgílio do Carmo da Silva of Dili to the rank of
an archbishop.
The Diocese of Díli has an area of 4,775 sq km, covering 5
districts in the central part of East Timor. Out of a total of population of
over 667,000, Catholics number more than 630,000 (94.4%), who are spread across
30 parishes. They are served by 149 priests, 132 men religious and 432
nuns. 98 major seminarians are studying for priesthood. The diocese
depends a lot on the service of catechists.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét