Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe (Latin: Archidioecesis Lilongvensis) is the Roman Catholic archdiocese located in Lilongwe in Malawi. Before its elevation to an archdiocese in 2011, it had belonged to the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Blantyre. The Maula Cathedral is located in the town of Lilongwe.^[1]

Archdiocese of Lilongwe Archidioecesis Lilongvensis
Location
Country	Malawi
Statistics
Area	24,025 km2 (9,276 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2004) 6,899,038 1,764,000 (25.6%)
Parishes	46
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	April 25, 1959
Cathedral	Our Lady of Africa Cathedral
Patron saint	Our Lady of Africa
Secular priests	108
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Archbishop	George Desmond Tambala
Suffragans	Dedza Mzuzu Karonga

Timeline

• July 31, 1889: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Nyassa from the Apostolic Vicariate of Tanganyika in Tanzania
• February 12, 1897: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Nyassa
• July 12, 1951: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Likuni
• June 20, 1958: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Lilongwe
• April 25, 1959: Promoted as Diocese of Lilongwe
• February 9, 2011: Elevated to Archdiocese of Lilongwe^[2]

Bishops

• Vicars Apostolic of Nyassa (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Joseph-Marie-Stanislas Dupont, MAfr (1897.02.12 – 1911.02.28)
  • Bishop Mathurin Guillemé, MAfr (1911.02.24 – 1934.06.27)
  • Bishop Joseph Ansgarius Julien, MAfr (1934.12.10 – 1950.12.07)
• Vicar Apostolic of Likuni (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Joseph Fady, MAfr (1951.07.10 – 1958.06.20 see below)
• Vicar Apostolic of Lilongwe (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Joseph Fady, MAfr (see above 1958.06.20 – 1959.04.25 see below)
• Bishops of Lilongwe (Roman rite)
  • Bishop Joseph Fady, MAfr (see above 1959.04.25 – 1972.05.06)
  • Bishop Patrick Augustine Kalilombe, MAfr (1972.05.06 – 1979.12.20)
  • Bishop Matthias A. Chimole (1979.12.20 – 1994.11.11)
  • Bishop Tarcisius Gervazio Ziyaye (1994.11.11 – 2001.01.23), appointed Archbishop of Blantyre; later returned here as Archbishop
  • Bishop Felix Eugenio Mkhori (2001.01.23 – 2007.07.04)
  • Bishop Rémi Joseph Gustave Sainte-Marie, MAfr (2007.07.04 - 2011.02.09 see below)
• Archbishops of Lilongwe (Roman rite)
  • Archbishop Rémi Joseph Gustave Sainte-Marie, MAfr (see above 2011.02.09 - 2013.07.03)
  • Archbishop Tarcisius Gervazio Ziyaye (2013.07.03 – 2020.12.14); was previously here as Bishop
  • Archbishop George Desmond Tambala, OCD (since 2021.10.15)

Coadjutor Bishops

• Rémi Joseph Gustave Sainte-Marie, MAfr (2006-2007)
• Tarcisius Gervazio Ziyaye (1993-1994)

Auxiliary Bishop

• Stanislaus Tobias Magombo (2009-2010)
• Vincent Frederick Mwakhwawa (Since January 2024)

Suffragan dioceses

Its suffragan dioceses are:

• Dedza
• Karonga
• Mzuzu