The Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe (Latin: Sancti Thomae in Insula) is a diocese, immediately subject to the Holy See, with its seat in the city of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe.[1][2] It covers the territory of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. As of 2015[update], 112,000 or 57.4% of the inhabitants of São Tomé and Príncipe were Catholic.[2]
History
The diocese was established on 3 November 1534, as the Diocese of Tomé from Metropolitan Archdiocese of Funchal in Portugal. The diocese initially included the Portuguese controlled or Christian areas of southwestern Africa. In 1596, it lost territory to the new diocese of São Salvador do Congo (today's Angola). in 1818 it lost territory to the new Apostolic Vicariate of Cape of Good Hope (today's South Africa). In 1842 it lost territory to the new Apostolic Prefecture of the Two Guineas and Senegambia (much of central and west Africa). In 1924, the diocese was renamed Diocese of São Tomé. In 1957 it was renamed to its current name Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe.[2]
Archbishop Moisés Alves de Pinho, C.S.Sp. (18 January 1941 – 17 November 1966); he is listed here as Archbishop because he is listed concurrently as Archbishop of Luanda, Angola.