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Diocese of Mthatha

Umtatan(us)

The Diocese of Mthatha (formerly Umtata) is a Latin rite suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of Durban, South Africa, established as an apostolic prefecture in 1930 and raised to a diocese in 1951. After Bishop Sithembele Sipuka was appointed Archbishop of Cape Town in January 2026, Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa of Kokstad was named Apostolic Administrator of the vacant see.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
11 January 1951
Latin
Umtatan(us)
Patron
All Saints
Annuario code
001000042

The see in figures

Catholics
68,198
Population
1,717,676
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
4.0%
Priests
21
Catholics per priest
3,248
Extent
22,500 km²
Catholics per km²
3.0

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

Apostolic Administrator
Thulani Victor Mbuyisa
Born
13 February 1973
Birthplace
Exobho
Institute
MISSIONARI DI MARIANNHILL

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 All Saints stands in Mthatha, 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 Durban

A suffragan of Archdiocese of Durban.

The sees of this province:

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

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Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia · GCatholic

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