Roman Catholic Diocese of Crete
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crete (Latin: Dioecesis Candiensis) is a diocese located on the island of Crete in the Ecclesiastical province of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos in Greece.
Diocese of Crete Dioecesis Candiensis Επισκοπή Κρήτης | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country |  |
| Ecclesiastical province | Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos |
| Metropolitan | Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 8,393 km2 (3,241 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2013) 512,000 5,000 (1%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 1213 (As Archdiocese of Candia) 28 August 1874 (As Diocese of Crete) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of the Assumption, Chania |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Sede Vacante |
| Apostolic Administrator | Petros Stefanou |
History
Roman Catholic presence on the island of Crete dates to its conquest by the Republic of Venice in the years after the Fourth Crusade (1204), and its establishment as a Venetian colony in 1212. Immediately after that, the first Latin Rite Archbishop of Crete was appointed, with a succession of holders until the Ottoman conquest of the island in the Cretan War (1645–69). Thereafter the see remained vacant, until re-established as a simple bishopric on 28 August 1874, initially a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Izmir, but today a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos.
Present day Catholic Churches in Heraklion (Saint John The Baptist), Chania, Rethymnon (St. Antony on Padua)
Leadership
Modern period
- Bishop Petros Stefanou, (Apostolic Administrator); Fr Daniel Stankiewicz Vicar General, Catholic Diocese of Crete
- Bishop Frangiskos Papamanolis, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1974.06.27 – 2014.05.13)
- Bishop Georges Xenopulos, S.J. (Apostolic Administrator 1952 – 1974)
- Fr. Arsenio da Corfù, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1951 – 1952)
- Fr. Amedeo Marcantonio Speciale da Gangi, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1945? – 1951)
- Fr. Roberto da Gangi, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1939 – 1945?)
- Bishop Lorenzo Giacomo Inglese, O.F.M. Cap. (1934.02.01 – 1935.05.05)
- Fr. Isidoro da Smirne, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1926 – 1933?)
- Bishop Francesco Giuseppe Seminara, O.F.M. Cap. (1910.06.22 – 1926.03.15)
- Bishop Luigi Canavo, O.F.M. Cap. (1874.12.22 – 1889.05.10)
Venetian period
- Cardinal Pietro Valier (1620.05.18 – 1623.10.02)
- Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio (Apostolic Administrator 1534.06.17 – 1536.01.28)
- Patriarch Leonardus Delfini (1387.05.07 – 1392.08.31)
See also
- Roman Catholicism in Greece
Sources
