Archdiocese of İzmir


The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of İzmir is a Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Asian Turkey.
The archdiocese's cathedral motherchurch and thus see of its archbishop is St. John's Cathedral. It also includes a World Heritage Site: Meryem Ana Evi Meryem Ana Evi, Bülbüldağı.
Martin Kmetec OFMConv, was appointed Archbishop of İzmir by Pope Francis on 8 December 2020.

History

In 1346 was established a Latin Archdiocese of Smyrna . In 1575 it was suppressed as residential see but immediately transformed into a Latin titular archbishopric. The title was held by:
In 1625 the residential see was restored, but demoted to missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, as the Apostolic Vicariate of Smyrna.
It was promoted to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of İzmir by Pope Pius VII on 18 March 1818, though it lacked the suffragan sees that normally constitute the ecclesiastical province under a metropolitan archdiocese.
On 12 September 1896 it gained territory from the suppressed Apostolic Prefecture of Trabzon, on 20 July 1931 it lost territory to the Diocese of Chios.
It has been visited by Pope Paul VI in July 1967, Pope John Paul II in November 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI in November 2006.
According to the current bishop, around 5,000 Catholics live in the diocese, though the number could be higher if one factors in refugees and migrants. "They mainly live in the inner-city areas of İzmir and other large cities. We have communities also in Konya, Antalya and other cities along the coast. In terms of geographical area, our archdiocese is very large, comprising about 100,000 square kilometres. The last parish that belongs to us is Konya, which is located about 550 kilometres from İzmir; its southern counterpart is Antalya, which is about 450 kilometres away. That shows you how great the distances are."

Ordinaries

Crusader age

;Archbishops of Smyrna

Modern age

Apostolic Vicars of Smyrna (Smirne)

Metropolitan Archbishops of İzmir (Smyrna)