Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Windhoek

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Windhoek (Latin: Vindhoeken(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Windhoek in Namibia. The predecessor to the current Archdiocese, the Prefecture Apostolic of Cimbebasia, was established in 1892 and the current archdiocese was fully erected in March 1994. The current archbishop is Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda.

Archdiocese of Windhoek Archidioecesis Vindhoekensis
Location
Country	Namibia
Statistics
Area	560,158 km2 (216,278 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2023) 3,022,000 363000 (12%%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Cathedral	St. Mary's Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, O.M.I.

History

• August 1, 1892: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Cimbebasia from the Apostolic Prefecture of Cimbebasia in Angola
• January 10, 1921: Renamed as Apostolic Prefecture of Cimbebasia
• May 11, 1926: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Windhoek
• March 14, 1994: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Windhoek

Special churches

St. Mary's Cathedral, Windhoek

• The cathedral is St. Mary's Cathedral in Windhoek.

Bishops

• Prefect Apostolic of Lower Cimbebasia (Roman rite)
  • Fr. Bernard Pierre Herrmann, O.M.I. (1892 – 1901)
  • Fr. Augustine Nachtwey, O.M.I. (1901.12 – 1908)
  • Fr. Joseph Schemmer, O.M.I. (1908.11.24 – 1909.12.17)
  • Fr. Eugène Klaeylé, O.M.I. (1909.12.18 – 1921.01.10)
• Prefect Apostolic of Cimbebasia (Roman rite)
  • Fr. Joseph Gotthardt, O.M.I. (1921.01.11 – 1926.05.11); see below''^[1]
• Vicars Apostolic of Windhoek (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Joseph Gotthardt, O.M.I. (1926.05.11 – 1961.03.20); see above ^[1]
  • Bishop Rudolf Johannes Maria Koppmann, O.M.I. (1961.03.20 – 1980.11.29)
  • Bishop Bonifatius Haushiku, I.C.P. (1980.11.29 – 1994.03.14): see below
• Archbishops of Windhoek (Roman rite)
  • Archbishop Bonifatius Haushiku, I.C.P. (1994.03.14 – 2002.06.12); see above
  • Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, O.M.I. (since 2004.09.21)

Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic

• Rudolf Johannes Maria Koppmann, O.M.I. (1957-1961)

Auxiliary Bishops

• Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, O.M.I. (1998-2004), appointed Archbishop here
• Bonifatius Haushiku, I.C.P. (1978-1980), appointed Vicar Apostolic here

Suffragan dioceses

• Keetmanshoop
• Rundu

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Namibia