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. 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. In turn, 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.
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it usually has an (embryonal) see, it is often not called after such city but rather after a natural or administrative geographical area.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei Darussalam is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction covering the territory of Brunei and headed by an apostolic vicar. The first apostolic vicar was Cornelius Sim, who was created a cardinal in 2020 and died in May 2021.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia is a Catholic apostolic vicariate with official seat in Bahrain.
The Archdiocese of Kampala is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Kampala in Uganda.
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Town is a Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Cape Town, in the south-western part of South Africa. The archdiocese's motherchurch and its archbishop's see is the cathedral of St. Mary of the Flight into Egypt, who is also the archbishopric's patron.
The Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines is a top-level diplomatic mission assigned by the Holy See to the Philippines, located at 2140 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baguio is a Latin Rite suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia on Luzon island in the Philippines.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Novaliches is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese was created by Pope John Paul II on December 7, 2002 by virtue of his Apostolic Constitution Animarum Utilitati, and was canonically erected on January 16, 2003 from the Archdiocese of Manila. The diocese previously existed as the Ecclesiastical District of Quezon City-North, which was renamed the District of Novaliches in 2002.
John Baptist Miège, S.J., was a Jesuit prelate and missionary. In addition to a career in education, he served as Vicar Apostolic of Kansas from 1851 to 1874.
Francisco F. Claver, S.J. was a Filipino Jesuit priest, appointed and consecrated first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malaybalay in the Philippines.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa is a Latin Church missionary jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church located in the Province of Palawan, Philippines. Its cathedra is within Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the episcopal see of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines. It is not a part of an ecclesiastical province as it is directly exempt to the Holy See, specifically the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, yet for the purpose of apostolic cooperation usually grouped with the Archdiocese of Manila, along with the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay. The current Vicar Apostolic is Bishop Socrates Calamba Mesiona MSP, DD.
Paul Hinder, O.F.M. Cap. is a Catholic bishop. He is the Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. On 13 May 2020, Bishop Hinder was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Arabia. Bishop Hinder was previously appointed as an Auxiliary Bishop in the former Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia on 30 January 2004.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo is an apostolic vicariate and is immediately subject to the Holy See and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches
The Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe is a Latin Church missionary ecclesiastical jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk is a Latin Church ecclesiastical missionary jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines covering the provinces of Kalinga and Apayao in northern Luzon.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo is a Latin Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction covering the Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces in southern Philippines.
Francisco Xavier Ricardo Vilá y Mateu, O.F.M.Cap. was a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He arrived as Guam's first bishop in 1911, and serving as apostolic vicar for less than a year, dying on 1 January 1913.
Bishop Varghese Thottamkara, C.M. is the serving Vicar Apostolic of Nekemte, Ethiopia.
