Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia
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Archdiocese of Alba Iulia
Archidioecesis Albae Iuliensis Arhiepiscopia de Alba Iulia
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| Location | |
| Country | Romania |
| Metropolitan | Immediately Subject to the Holy See |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 58,254 km2 (22,492 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2015) 4,017,256 397,778 (9.9%) |
| Parishes | 253 |
| Information | |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 1009 (As Diocese of Transilvania, Erdély, Siebenbürgen) 22 March 1932 (As Diocese of Alba Iulia) 5 August 1991 (Archdiocese of Alba Iulia) |
| Cathedral | St. Michael's Cathedral, Alba Iulia |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Gergely Kovács |
| Auxiliary Bishops | László Kerekes (elect) |
| Bishops emeritus |
György Jakubinyi József Tamás |
| Map | |
 Administrative map of Roman-Catholic Church | |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia (Latin: Archidioecesis Albae Iuliensis); Hungarian: Gyulafehérvári Római Katolikus Érsekség) is a Latin Church archdiocese in Transylvania, Romania.
History
It was established as a bishopric, the diocese of Transylvania also called Erdély (in Hungarian), or Karlsburg alias Siebenbürgen (in German), in 1009 by King Stephen I of Hungary and was renamed as the diocese of Alba Iulia on 22 March 1932.
It was raised to the rank of an archdiocese by Pope John Paul II on 5 August 1991. It is exempt, i.e. directly subordinate to the Vatican, while the other Romanian dioceses form the Ecclesiastical Province of Bucharest.
Bishops
Ordinaries
- Bishops
- (?) Franco (1071–1081)
- Simon (1111–1113)
- Peter (1134)
- Baranus (1139)
- Walter (1156–1157/8)
- Vilcina (1166–1169)
- Paul (1181)
- Adrian (1192–1201)
- William (1204–1221)
- Raynald of Belleville (1222–1241)
- Artolf (1244–1245)
- Gallus (1246–1269)
- Peter Monoszló (1270–1307)
- Benedict (1309–1319)
- Demetrius (1368–1376)
- Goblinus (1376–1386)
- János Statileo (1534–1542)
- Pál Bornemissza (1553–1556)
- Demeter Naprágyi (1597–1605)
- Ignác Batthyány (1780–1798)
- Sándor Rudnay (1815–1819)
- Lajos Haynald (1852–1863)
- Áron Márton (1938–1980)
- Lajos Bálint (1990–1991)
- Archbishops
- Lajos Bálint (1991–1993)
- György Jakubinyi (1994–2019)
- Gergely Kovács (since 2019)
Auxiliary Bishops
- György-Miklós Jakubinyi (1990–1994), appointed Archbishop here
- József Tamás (1996–2019)
- László Kerekes (since 2020)
Description
The archdiocese covers Transylvania proper—the counties of Alba, Bistrița-Năsăud, Brașov, Cluj, Covasna, Harghita, Hunedoara, Mureș, Sălaj and Sibiu.
The cathedral episcopal see is St. Michael's, in Alba Iulia city. It also has a minor basilica in Șumuleu Ciuc.
Population
11% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic, with concentrations in parts of Harghita and Covasna counties. Catholic adherents are predominantly ethnic Hungarians.