Catholic IntelligenceA work of service to the Church

Archdiocese of Calcutta

Calcutten(sis)

The Archdiocese of Calcutta is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese in West Bengal, India, established on 18 April 1834 as the Vicariate Apostolic of Bengal and elevated to metropolitan archdiocese in 1886. Its seat is the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary in Kolkata. Archbishop Elias Frank succeeded Thomas D'Souza as metropolitan archbishop on 20 September 2025.

The see

Rank
Metropolitan see
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
1 September 1886
Latin
Calcutten(sis)
Patron
St Francis Xavier and St Teresa of Calcutta
Annuario code
001001017

The see in figures

Catholics
177,354
Population
49,010,000
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
0.4%
Priests
274
Catholics per priest
647
Extent
29,868 km²
Catholics per km²
5.9

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Archbishop
Elias Frank
Born
15 August 1962
Birthplace
Kinibettu Village

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary, Kolkata stands in Calcutta, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Calcutta

This see is the metropolitan of its province.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

An ecclesiastical Latin Church territory of the Catholic Church in India, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta bears the Latin name Archidioecesis Calcuttensis.

Catholic Intelligence

Get early access

We are indexing the whole visible Church: every diocese and parish on earth, searchable and mapped, with Mass times, clergy, and diocesan contacts. Launching soon. Sign up to be first in when it opens, starting with [object Object].

One email at launch. Nothing else.

Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.