Roman Catholic Diocese of Luiza

Roman Catholic diocese in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Diocese of Luiza Dioecesis Ludovicanus

Location
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Metropolitan	Kananga
Statistics
Area	21,777 km² (8,408 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2022) 1,230,000 738,000 (60.0%)
Information
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Félicien Mwanama Galumbulula
Bishops emeritus	Léonard Kasanda Lumembu

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Luiza (Latin: Ludovican(us)) is a diocese located in the territory of Luiza in the ecclesiastical province of Kananga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On January 3, 2014, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Luiza's bishop, Léonard Kasanda Lumembu and appointed as his successor Félicien Mwanama Galumbulula, a former university professor who was second secretary of the Episcopal Conference of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (CENCO) from 2008 to 2014.^[1] He was installed on March 23, 2014.^[2]

History

September 26, 1967: Established as the Diocese of Luiza from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Luluabourg^[3]
March 25, 2022: Lost territory to establish the Diocese of Tshilomba^[4]

Leadership

Bishops of Luiza

Archbishop (personal title) Bernard Mels, C.I.C.M. (September 26, 1967^[5] – October 3, 1970)
Bishop Godefroid Mukeng’a Kalond, C.I.C.M. (August 30, 1971^[6] – March 3, 1997), appointed Archbishop of Kananga
Bishop Léonard Kasanda Lumembu, C.I.C.M. (April 3, 1998^[7] – January 3, 2014)^[1]
Bishop Félicien Mwanama Galumbulula (January 3, 2014^[1] – present)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Rinunce e Nomine, 03.01.2014" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^ Malenge, Jean-Baptiste (April 4, 2014). "ORDINATION ÉPISCOPALE DE MGR FÉLICIEN MWANAMA, ÉVÊQUE DE LUIZA". Prêtre dans la Rue (in French). Retrieved April 8, 2022. Malenge is a correspondent for Vatican Radio.
^ Acta Apostolica Sedis (PDF). Vol. LX. 1968. pp. 180–2. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
^ "Resignations and Appointments, 25.03.2022" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^ Acta Apostolica Sedis (PDF). Vol. LX. 1968. pp. 116–7. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
^ Acta Apostolica Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXIV. 1972. p. 73. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
^ Acta Apostolica Sedis (PDF). Vol. XC. 1998. p. 820. Retrieved April 8, 2022.