 | It has been suggested thatportions ofArchdiocese of Carthage besplit out from it andmerged into this article. (Discuss)(February 2025) |
Archdiocese of Tunis Latin:Archidioecesis Tunetanus | |
|---|---|
 St Vincent de Paul Cathedral in Tunis | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 62,632 sq mi (162,220 km2) |
Population
|
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | St Vincent de Paul |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Archbishop elect | Nicolas Lhernould |
| Bishops emeritus | Ilario Antoniazzi |
TheArchdiocese of Tunis is aLatin Church ecclesiastical territory ordiocese of theCatholic Church inTunis,Tunisia. It was founded on 10 November 1884 under the name "Archdiocese of Carthage", with territory corresponding to that of the thenFrench protectorate of Tunisia. On 9 July 1964, it became aterritorial prelature under the ecclesiastical title of Prelature of Tunis. It was made a diocese, keeping the name of Tunis, on 31 May 1995, and raised to the rank of archdiocese on 22 May 2010.[2]
TheCathedral of St. Vincent de Paul is thecathedral of the archdiocese of Tunis.
Theancient see of Carthage, which is now atitular see,[3] was much less extensive than the modern archdiocese of Tunis. The territory of the archdiocese is coterminous with that of Tunisia, and thus corresponds approximately to that of the entireRoman provinces ofAfrica Proconsularis (Zeugitana) andByzacena. The ancient diocese was only one of many bishoprics within the former of these Roman provinces. On the other hand, the archdiocese does not enjoy the influence that the ancient diocese had over a large number of bishoprics in an area, encompassing not only today's Tunisia but also much ofAlgeria.
The bishop of Tunis (episcopus Tuneiensis) was separate from the bishop of Carthage; known bishops included Lucianus, who attended the411 Council of Carthage,[4] and Sextilianus, sent by the bishop of Carthage to theSecond Council of Constantinople in 553.[5] InPope Gregory VII's reign, a new bishop of Tunis had to be sent to Rome forconsecration as there were not the necessary three bishops available near Carthage.[6] Older sources identify Tunis withTunnuna, the see of chroniclerVictor of Tunnuna.[7][8][9]
In 1684,Pope Urban VIII established anapostolic prefecture at Tunis forOttoman Tunisia, whichPope Gregory XVI raised to the rank of anapostolic vicariate in 1843.[10]
In 1881, Tunisia became aFrench protectorate, and in the same yearCharles Lavigerie, who was archbishop of Algiers, becameapostolic administrator of the vicariate of Tunis. In the following year, Lavigerie became acardinal. He "saw himself as the reviver of the ancient Christian Church of Africa, the Church of Cyprian of Carthage",[11] and, on 10 November 1884, was successful in his great ambition of having themetropolitan see of Carthage restored, with himself as its first archbishop.[12] In 1053,Pope Leo IX settled a dispute about primacy in the Roman province of Africa between the bishops of Carthage andGummi by declaring that, after the Bishop of Rome, the first archbishop and chief metropolitan of the whole ofAfrica is the bishop of Carthage nor can he, for the benefit of any bishop in the whole of Africa, lose the privilege received once for all from the holy Roman and apostolic see, but he will hold it until the end of the world as long as the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is invoked there, whether Carthage lie desolate or whether it some day rise glorious again."[13] In line with this,Pope Leo XIII acknowledged the revived Archdiocese of Carthage as theprimatial see ofAfrica and Lavigerie as primate.[14][15][16] (The statement by Auguste Boudinhon that the acknowledgement was made in 1893, the year after Lavigerie's death,[17] if not mistaken, is a reference to some renewed recognition.) From then until 1964, theAnnuario Pontificio presented the see of Carthage as "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see ofProconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as archbishopric 10 November 1884".[18]
In July 1964, pressure from PresidentHabib Bourguiba's government of theRepublic of Tunisia, which was in a position to close down all the Catholic churches in the country, forced the Holy See to abide by amodus vivendi bilateral agreement which regulated its legal status according to the1959 Constitution of Tunisia.[19] Themodus vivendi gave the Catholic Church in Tunisialegal personality and stated that it was legally represented by theprelatenullius of Tunis.[19]: 917 The Holy See chose the prelatenullius but the government could object against the candidate before an appointment.[19]: 920 Themodus vivendi banned the Catholic Church from any political activity in Tunisia.[19]: 918 This particular agreement was unofficially described as instead amodus non moriendi ("a way of not dying"). By it, all but five of the country's more than seventy churches were handed over to the state, including what had been thecathedral of the archdiocese, while the state, for its part, promised that the buildings would be put only to use of public interest consonant with their previous function.[20][21][22]
Pope Paul VI suppressed the Archdiocese of Carthage and erected thePrelaturenullius of Tunis, in his 1964 apostolic constitutionPrudens Ecclesiae, to conform to the bilateral agreement.[23] The Archdiocese of Carthage reverted to the status of atitular see. The residential archdiocese's territory became that of theTerritorial Prelature of Tunis, established on 9 July 1964. The first archbishop of the titular see,Agostino Casaroli, was appointed on 4 July 1967. TheAnnuario Pontificio of that period described the titular archiepiscopal see of Carthage as "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see of Proconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as an archiepiscopal see on 10 November 1884, titular archbishopric 9 July 1964".[24] The history of the territorial prelature was given as "founded 9 July 1964, previously an archbishopric under the name of Carthage founded 10 November 1884".[25]
What was the cathedral of the archdiocese of Carthage, theSaint Louis Cathedral (Carthage), is owned by the Tunisian state and is used for concerts.
The prelature was elevated to anexempt diocese, directly subject to the Holy See, in 1995.[26][a] In 2010, it was promoted to an exempt archdiocese.[28] The summary of the history of the residential archdiocese of Tunis now given in theAnnuario Pontificio is: "archbishopric under the name of Carthage 10 November 1884; Prelature of Tunis 9 July 1964; diocese 31 May 1995; archbishopric 22 May 2010."[29] The ancient see of Carthage, on the other hand, being no longer a residential bishopric, is listed by theCatholic Church as a titular see in the same publication as distinct from the modern see of Tunis. As a summary history of the titular see of Carthage it states: "founded in the 3rd century, metropolitan see of Proconsularis or Zeugitana, restored as an archiepiscopal see on 10 November 1884, titular metropolitan see 9 July 1964".[30]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Alzog, Johann B. (1903)."The missions of the Catholic Church". In Pabisch, Francis J.; Byrne, Thomas S. (eds.).Manual of universal church history. Vol. 3 (Translated, with additions, from the 9th German ed.). Cincinnati: Robert Clarke. p. 933.OCLC 679368682. Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1910)."Lavigerie, Charles Martial Allemand".New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 6 (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. p. 425.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)summa Nostra potestate cathedralem archiepiscopalem Sedem Carthaginensem e numero cathedralium Ecclesiarum tollimus atque exstinguimus, eandem in ordinem titulo tantum exstantium redigentes, eiusque loco praelaturam «nullius»Tunetanam erigimus, quae iisdem finibus cingetur ac prior Ecclesia, atque Apostolicae Sedi directo subicietur.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help){{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)Tunetanam territorialem Praelaturam, Apostolicae Sedi immediate subiectam, ad gradum dioecesis evehimus, iisdem superioribus retentis finibus atque omnibus iuribus officiisque congruentibus concessis secundum iuris canonici praescripta.
Summa igitur Nostra potestate dioecesim Tunetanam, Apostolicae Sedi immediate subiectam, ad gradum ac dignitatem archidioecesis attollimus iisdem servatis finibus.
36°48′01″N10°10′44″E / 36.80028°N 10.17889°E /36.80028; 10.17889