Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ispahan

Archdiocese of Ispahan Archidioecesis Hispahanensis
Location
Country	Iran
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Ignazio Bedini, S.D.B.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ispahan/Esfahan or Isfahan (Latin: Archidioecesis Hispahanensis Latinorum) is an archdiocese located in the city of Isfahan in Iran.

History

The diocese was established by Italian Dominican friars on October 12, 1629 when Isfahan was the capital of the Safavid Empire. The cathedral was then situated in the New Julfa quarter, where most of the other churches in the city were located (there are twenty-five churches in the city, of which eleven are still functioning. The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese on July 1, 1910. As of 2006, there were five priests serving 10,000 faithful in six parishes. The current archbishop is Ignazio Bedini, appointed on December 2, 1989 and consecrated on January 6, 1990. The Church of the Consolata in Tehran serves as his cathedral church.

Leadership

• Archbishops of Ispahan (Roman rite)
  • Archbishop Ignazio Bedini, S.D.B. (December 2, 1989 – present)
  • Archbishop Kevin William Barden, O.P. (May 30, 1974 – August 12, 1982)
  • Archbishop Jacques-Emile Sontag, C.M. (September 11, 1910 – July 27, 1918)
• Bishops of Ispahan (Roman Rite)
  • Bishop Jacques-Emile Sontag, C.M. (later Archbishop) (July 13, 1910 – September 11, 1910)
  • Archbishop François Lesné (Apostolic Administrator April 9, 1896 – February 11, 1910)

Source

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy
• (Italian) Daniele Federico Rosa (a cura di), La delegazione apostolica in Persia dalla creazione al 1936: alcuni cenni storici, Città del Vaticano 2011