Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monrovia
The Archdiocese of Monrovia (Archidioecesis Monroviensis) is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Monrovia, Liberia. It follows the Latin Rite. It was elevated to an archdiocese in December 1981. It was initially established as the Prefecture Apostolic of Liberia in 1903, being separated from the Apostolic Vicariate of Sierra Leone (which is now the Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo). Until Saturday, February 12, 2011, the Archdiocese of Monrovia had been headed by Michael Kpakala Francis, who had been Monrovia's Archbishop since its elevation in 1981, but Vatican Information Service (VIS) stated that he resigned that day for reasons of age and was succeeded immediately by his Coadjutor Archbishop, Lewis Zeigler (under canon law, each bishop must offer to resign when he turns 75, which may or may not be accepted then).
According to church statistics, the percentage of Catholics under the Archdiocese has risen to 8.2% of the total population in 2004 out of a total of approximately 1.6 million people.
The Diocese of Cape Palmas was created from it in 1981. The Diocese of Gbarnga was created from it in 1986.
See also
Sources
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Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article Liberia. |
Coordinates: 6°19′09″N 10°48′37″W / 6.3191°N 10.8103°W