Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley

Diocese of Kimberley Dioecesis Kimberleyensis
Location
Country	South Africa
Metropolitan	Bloemfontein
Statistics
Area	123,083 km2 (47,523 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 1,740,000 117,335 (6.7%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Current leadership
Pope	Francis

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley (Latin: Kimberleyen(sis)) is a diocese of the Catholic Church based in the city of Kimberly in the Ecclesiastical province of Bloemfontein in South Africa. The seat of the bishop is the Cathedral of St. Mary in Kimberley.

History

• 4 June 1886: Established as Vicariate Apostolic of Kimberley in Orange from Apostolic Vicariate of Cape of Good Hope, Eastern District and Apostolic Vicariate of Natal
• 1918: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Kimberley in South Africa
• 11 January 1951: Promoted as Diocese of Kimberley

Leadership

• Bishops of Kimberley (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Abel Gabuza (23 Dec 2010- Incumbent)
  • Bishop Erwin Hecht, O.M.I. (1974.07.01 - 2009)
  • Bishop John Boekenfoehr, O.M.I. (1953.03.24 – 1974.07.01)
• Vicars Apostolic of Kimberley in South Africa (Roman rite)
  • Archbishop Herman Joseph Meysing, O.M.I. (1929.12.19 – 1951.01.11)
• Vicars Apostolic of Kimberley in Orange (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Matteo Gaughren, O.M.I. (1902.01.13 – 1914.05.30)

See also

• Roman Catholicism in South Africa

Sources

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy