Archdiocese of Luanda


The Archdiocese of Luanda is the oldest Roman Catholic archdiocese in Angola.
Its cathedral is the Church of Our Lady of Remedies in Luanda.

History

The diocese was founded in 1596 as the Diocese of 'Angola e Congo or São Salvador de Congo', on territory split off from the Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its original cathedral was the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour of Congo.
The metropolitan bishop was the Patriarch of Lissabon, from 1676-1844 the Primate of Brazil. In 1716, the episcopal see was relocated from São Salvador to Luanda.
It was elevated to an Archdiocese on 4 September 1940.
Since the death of Archbishop Damião António Franklin, the 21st man to hold that position, on 28 April 2014, the seat is occupied by Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias.

Statistics

As of 2004, the archdiocese was home to approximately 4.84 million people, approximately 3.06 million of them being Roman Catholic. There are approximately 150 priests serving the over 3 million Catholics.

List of bishops and archbishops

;Bishops of Angola e Congo
  • Miguel Rangel, OFMCap
  • Antonio de Santo Estevão, OP
  • Manuel Baptista Soares, OFM
  • Simon Mascarenhas, OFM
  • Francisco de Soveral, OSA
  • Pedro Sanches Farinha
  • Antonio do Espirito Santo, OCD
  • Manuel da Natividade, OFM
  • João Franco de Oliveira
  • José de Oliveira, OSA
  • Luis Simões Brandão
  • Manuel a Santa Catharina, OCarm
  • Antônio de Nossa Senhora do Desterro Malheiro, OSB
  • Manoel de Santa Ines Ferreira, OCD
  • Luis da Anunciação Azevedo, OP
  • Alexandre da Sagrada Familia Ferreira da Silva, OFM
  • Luiz de Brito Homem
  • Joaquim Maria Mascarenhas Castello Branco
  • João Damasceno Da Silva Póvoas
  • Sebastião da Anunciação Gomes de Lemos, OCD
  • Joaquim Moreira Reis, OSB
  • Manuel de Santa Rita Barros, TOR
  • José Lino de Oliveira
  • Tommaso Gomes de Almeida
  • José Sebastião d’Almeida Neto, OFM
  • Antonio Tomas da Silva Leitão e Castro
  • Antonio Dias Ferreira
  • Antonio José Gomes Cardoso
  • Antonio Barbosa Leão
  • João Evangelista de Lima Vidal
  • Moisés Alves de Pinho, CSSp
;Archbishops of Luanda