Roman Catholic Diocese of Makeni

Roman Catholic diocese in Sierra Leone

Diocese of Makeni Dioecesis Makenensis

Location
Country	Sierra Leone
Metropolitan	North and North-West Province
Headquarters	Makeni City
Statistics
Area	36,075 km² (13,929 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 1,800,000 38,000 (2.1%)
Information
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Our Lady of Fatima, Makeni
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Bishop Natale Paganelli
Vicar General	Bob John H. Koroma
Map

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Makeni (Latin: Makenen(sis)) is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Freetown in Sierra Leone. The cathedral is the Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral in Makeni.^[1]

In 2012 a majority of priests in the diocese disagreed with the appointment of bishop Henry Aruna, after which sede vacante was declared in April 2012.^[2]

History

April 3, 1952: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Makeni from territory of the Diocese of Freetown and Bo
February 24, 1962: Elevated to the status of a diocese

Ordinaries

Prefect Apostolic of Makeni (Latin Church)
- Augusto Fermo Azzolini (1952-07-19 – 1962-02-24 see below)
Bishops of Makeni (Latin Church)
- Augusto Fermo Azzolini (see above 1962-02-24 – 1986-11-17)
- Giorgio Biguzzi (1986-11-17 - 2012-01-07)
- Henry Aruna (2012-01-07 - 2012-04-11), did not take possession
- Sede vacante (2012)^[3]
  - Bishop Natale Paganelli (66) (Apostolic Administrator 2012 - 2023-02-11)^[4]
- Bishop Bob John Hassan Koroma (2023-02-11 onwards)^[5]

References

^ "Sierra Leone: Makeni Catholics defy Pope Benedict XVI | WADR". wadr.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09.
^ Makeni: Bishop Aruna Crisis Persists, The Patriotic Vanguard, 9 January 2013
^ Sierra Leone, un presente stretto, Nigrizia, 6 June 2012
^ GCatholic website, Diocese of Makeni
^ Vatican News website, Pope Francis names new Bishop of Makeni, Sierra Leone, article dated February 11, 2023