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The Roman Catholic Diocese (formerly a missionary jurisdiction) of Bikoro was a Latin Church diocese in (initially Belgian) Congo (Zaire) from 1931 to 1975, named after its then headquarters/ episcopal see Bikoro, run by the Vincentians (Lazarists, C.M.).
It was founded on 3 January 1931 as the Mission sui iuris of Bikoro, on territories split from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville and Apostolic Prefecture of Coquilhatville.
It was promoted on 25 June 1940 as Apostolic Prefecture of Bikoro, and again on 28 June 1957 as Apostolic Vicariate of Bikoro, hence entitled to a titular bishop.
It lost its missionary exempt status (directly subject to the Holy See) by its final promotion on 10 November 1959 to Diocese of Bikoro, becoming a suffragan of the Metropolitan then Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbandaka.
On 12 April 1975 it was suppressed, its territory being divided between its Metropolitan, which absorbed its title by renaming to Archdiocese of Mbandaka–Bikoro, and the equally preexisting Diocese of Inongo. [1]
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.
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 Ethiopian Catholic Church or Ethiopian Eastern Catholic Church is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ethiopia. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. Established in 1930, the church is organised under a metropolitan bishop who exercises oversight of a number suffragan dioceses. In its liturgical services, it uses the Alexandrian Rite in the Ge'ez language.
The Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti is a Catholic Latin mission sui juris in Tuvalu, Polynesia.
The Archdiocese of Kinshasa is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the capital city of Kinshasa and surrounding districts. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Kinshasa. The current archbishop is Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbandaka-Bikoro is the Metropolitan See for the Latin Rite Ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro, in the western part of Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kikwit is a diocese located in the city of Kikwit in the Ecclesiastical province of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Basankusu is a Latin suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Mbandaka-Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisala is a Latin Catholic diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, named after its see, located in the city of Lisala.
The Diocese of Bokungu–Ikela is a diocese located in the city of Bokungu–Ikela in the Ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lolo is a diocese located in the town of Bumba in the Ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Molegbe is a suffragan Latin diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Datong/Tatung is a Latin diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Taiyuan in PR China.
The Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar is a Roman Catholic Latin apostolic prefecture located in Mongolia, with its territory consisting of the entire country.
The Diocese of Oslo is an exempt Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Oslo in Norway.
The Mission sui juris of I-li was a pre-diocesan Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or mission sui iuris of the Catholic Church in Mongol-imperial China, notably in East Turkestan.
The Apostolic Prefecture of Yixian is a Latin Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction in the PR China, near Beijing and Baoding.
The Macedonian Apostolic Vicariate of the Bulgarians, informally Macedonia of the Bulgarians, was one of the missionary, pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church sui iuris.
