Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyay


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyay is a suffragan diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Burma, in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yangon, but like that depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Its Cathedral episcopal see is St. Paul’s Cathedral, in Pyay, Bago Region.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 25,810 Catholics on 80,938 km² in 20 parishes and 1 mission with 40 priests, 110 lay religious and 13 seminarians.

History

Originally erected on 9 July 1940 as the Apostolic prefecture of Akyab, the pre-diocese has the distinction of being the only ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Burma created from the Diocese of Chittagong.
On 19 September 1957, its name was changed to the Apostolic prefecture of Prome.
On 21 February 1961, the prefecture was elevated to a full bishopric as Diocese of Prome.
Finally on 8 October 1991, the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Pyay and became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Yangon
The resignation for health reasons of Auxiliary Bishop Gregory Taik Maung, appointed in 1991, who was serving as Apostolic Administrator, was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, July 16, 2010. On Friday, December 3, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Devellerez Thaung Shwe as Bishop and appointed Burmese priest Alexander Pyone Cho, a native of the Pyay Diocese, as Bishop of Pyay.

Ordinaries

;Apostolic Prefect of Akyab
;Apostolic Prefect of Prome
;Suffragan Bishops of Prome