Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia


The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia is a Latin Church Catholic archdiocese in Transylvania, Romania.

History

It was established as a bishopric, the diocese of Transylvania also called Erdély, or Karlsburg alias Siebenbürgen, in 1009 by King Stephen I of Hungary and was renamed as the diocese of Alba Iulia on 22March 1932.
It was raised to the rank of an archdiocese by Pope John Paul II on 5August 1991. It is exempt, i.e. directly subordinate to the Vatican, while the other Romanian dioceses form the Ecclesiastical Province of Bucharest.
Its first archbishop since 1994 was György Jakubinyi.

Bishops

Ordinaries

The archdiocese covers Transylvania proper—the counties of Alba, Bistriţa-Năsăud, Braşov, Cluj, Covasna, Harghita, Hunedoara, Mureş, Sălaj and Sibiu.
The cathedral episcopal see is St. Michael's, in Alba Julia city. It also has a minor basilica in Şumuleu Ciuc.

Population

11% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic, with concentrations in parts of Harghita and Covasna counties. Catholic adherents are predominantly ethnic Hungarians.