An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often a promotion for a former apostolic prefecture, while either may have started out as a mission sui iuris. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more. The hope is that the region will generate sufficient numbers of Catholics for the Church to create a diocese one day.
An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese, or is a diocese, archdiocese, eparchy or similar permanent ordinariate that either has no bishop or archbishop or, in very rare cases, has an incapacitated (arch)bishop. The title also applies to an outgoing (arch)bishop while awaiting for the date of assuming his new position.
The Apostolic Prefecture of the Marshall Islands is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or apostolic prefecture of the Catholic Church in the Marshall Islands.
A territorial prelate is, in Catholic usage, a prelate whose geographic jurisdiction, called territorial prelature, generally does not belong to any diocese and is considered a particular church.
The Catholic Church in Brunei Darussalam is a part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in communion with the pope in Rome, and constitutionally recognised within the state of Brunei Darussalam. The entire territory of the Church in Brunei is organised as an apostolic vicariate, under the leadership of a bishop, since 2005. While no formal diplomatic relations exist between the Holy See and Brunei, there are existing quasi-diplomatic contacts between the church and government agencies at multiple levels. Since 1990, a papal nuncio has visited the country annually to make contact with the local church as well as the foreign affairs ministry. The Apostolic Delegation to Brunei Darussalam was established in 1998 following the establishment of the distinct Bruneian ecclesiastical territory as an apostolic prefecture. The Bruneian ecclesiastical jurisdiction falls under the purview of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a mission sui iuris, also known as an independent mission, can be defined as: "an ecclesial structure erected from a previous territory, with explicit boundaries, under the care of a religious community or other diocese, responding to a missionary exigency and headed by a superior nominated by the Holy See, under the aegis of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples."
The Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany, known for most of its existence as the Vicariate Apostolic of the NorthernMissions, was a Catholic missionary jurisdiction established on 28 April 1667. It belonged to a vicar apostolic in predominantly Protestant Northern Europe.
The Archdiocese of Honiara is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Solomon Islands. It is the successor of the apostolic prefecture of the British Solomon Islands, which was erected in 1897. The ecclesiastical province of Honiara was created in 1978, the first such creation of Pope John Paul II, and contains two suffragan sees: Gizo and Auki (1982).
The Archdiocese of Bamako is the Metropolitan Archdiocesan See for the ecclesiastical province which covers all and only Mali. It depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hankou is a Latin Rite Metropolitan archdiocese, based in Hankou, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
The Diocese of Yuanling is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the county of Yuanling (Hunan), China. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Changsha, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Diocese of Qingdao/Tsingtao is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in China. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Jinan.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manado is a Latin Rite suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Makassar on Sulawesi island in Indonesia, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pangkal-Pinang is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Palembang on Bangka Belitung Islands in Indonesia, yet depends on the missionary Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Territorial Prelature of Tromsø is a Catholic territorial prelature located in the city of Tromsø in Norway. The territory is divided into 7 parishes located in the following sites: Tromsø, Bodø, Hammerfest, Harstad, Mosjøen, Narvik and Storfjord.
The Diocese of Oslo is an exempt Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Oslo in Norway.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Mitú is a Latin pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Colombia.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo is a Latin Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction that cover the Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces in southern Philippines.
