Early History

The history of the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa dates back to part of the huge Latin
Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Abyssinia, when this prefecture was established in 1839 and
was at first based at Massawa and then at Keren in Eritrea (from 1860). Before 1839, the area of
the present Archeparchy/Diocese and the rest of the territory of the Apostolic Prefecture of
Abyssinia belonged to the vaster Apostolic Vicariate of Syria, Egypt, Arabia and Cyprus.
On 4 May 1846, the Apostolic Prefecture of Abyssinia lost much territory to the south on the
establishment of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Oromo. Next year, it was raised to the rank
of Apostolic Vicariate and therefore given a titular bishop as its head. On 19 September 1894, it
lost territory to the north to the new Apostolic Prefecture of Eritrea. The 1847 loss to the
Apostolic Vicariate of the Orormo involved a vast territory but no established missions; the
smaller territory lost in 1894 to the Apostolic Prefecture of Eritrea contained 25 of its 28
parishes. On 25 March 1937, in a general reorganization of Catholic jurisdictions in Ethiopia that
followed its military conquest by Italy, the Apostolic Vicariate of Abyssinia was suppressed.
Transplantation of Mission by Andre Jarosseau
In 1879, bishop Jarosseau was the first missionary to enter Shoa and only on his way to
Kaffa. His short stop in Addis Ababa, the new capital of the empire he made arrangements for
the establishment of missionary station there. The occasion was the presence in the capital of
many foreign diplomats, especially French. Jarosseau managed to snatch from Menelik the
permission to send a chaplain of the European colony. The chosen priest, Fr. Basil de
Combrand, arrived in Addis Ababa on the 22nd of July, 1904. His difficulties in the capital came
not only from the Coptic clergy, a thing which could be expected but also from the foreigners:
English Protestants and French Freemasons.
In 1907 the Emperor gave Fr. Basil a piece of land on which to build a chapel. This gave him the
possibility of receiving the native Catholics without needing to operate through the French
Embassy. In 1918, Fr. Basil was replaced by Fr. Serafino. In 1932, the situation was sufficiently
favorable to begin the construction of a big church, the one which is the today’s Catholic
Cathedral. Denied the permission to build in the place they asked to, the church had to be built in
the place where it now stands.
The Emperor followed the work and positively encouraged them. Besides the Capuchins also
with the Lazarists from the Vicariate of Abyssinia, aware of the importance of the new capital,
opened a procure in Addis Ababa as early as 1917, overcoming the initial resistance of Mgr.
Jarosseau, they established what later developed in to St. Mary’s parish and school.
The parish of Kebbenna was opened in 1934 and was served by a local priest from Harar. At
Kebbenna, there were two small well built houses, and there was a beautiful church which
functioned as a parish. Attached to the Parish, there was the hospital called “Duca Degli
Abruzzi” where the Canossian Sisters had worked. Fr. Cassiano of Ronsecco was the chaplain at
Kebbenna and saw to the spiritual needs of those in the boys; orphanage there With the wider
freedom granted by the new ruler, Ras Tafari Makonen ( Emperor beginning in 1930), Addis
Ababa became the center of missionary expansion and the reference point for new foundations
in all the south of Ethiopia.
The Arada Mission Station as the Official Catholic Apostolate
As for the official origin of the Catholic mission station of Arada, in his letter of March 11, 1931,
addressed to Fr. Melchior of Benisa and written from Harar, Msgr. Jarosseau informed the
former that, at the beginning of February, 1931, he had gone to Addis Ababa in order to pay his
personal homage to Emperor Haile Selassie, who had been crowned and had ascended to the
imperial Throne of Ethiopia. There he was received twice by the Emperor in a manner he did not
expect. During the audience with the Emperor one of the questions that Msgr. Jarosseau raised
was the construction of a church is Addis Ababa, though he was aware of the possible objections
to such a project. However, to his surprise, the response of the Emperor was that he consented to
the construction of such a church without any hesitation.
While Msgr. Jarosseau as requested authorization to build a small church within the mission
compound, out of the public view, Emperor Haile Selassie authorized him to construct the
church where it would be visible so that it might be a worthy monument which would serve as a
recommendation for the Catholics who were quite numerous in the Empire by that time. The
Emperor went even further, insisting on the construction of a big Cathedral, similar to that of
Asmara Catholic Cathedral. Eventually, on October 8, 1933, Msgr. Jarosseau solemnly blessed
the Catholic Cathedral of Addis Ababa. To the Catholic mission of Arada, were assigned 4
Capuchin Missionary priests, 1 lay brother, and 1 Ethiopian priest upon the arrival of the first
group of the Capuchin missionaries from Torino in 1937. For the Cathedral Church of Addis
Ababa, the Capuchin Missionaries of the Province of Torino also bought a big organ, which was
inaugurated by Msgr. Castellani, vicar apostolic of Addis Ababa, on the occasion of the 10 th
anniversary of his Episcopal consecration.
Consequently, the salon for parish activities was inaugurated by Msgr. Leone Ossola towards
mid-June, 1939. In those days, the Catholic Cathedral was always crowded during religious
celebrations. There was a flourishing association for Catholic Action, and there were spiritual
gatherings for the local youth and adult Catholics.
Under the main Catholic Mission station of Arada, there was an outstation of Gulale (the Lazarist
House), situated a distance of 3km from the center of the city. At Gulale, there was a big
orphanage for boys as well as an institution for Maternity and Infancy which also took care of
abandoned children. There were 14 nuns who took care of that center, where Fr. Corrado of
Verzuolo served as a Chaplain. Besides this responsibility, the chaplaincy of the hospital of
“Luigi Razza” was under the mission station of Arada, and Fr. Costantino of Racconigi was a
Chaplain there.
The New Apostolic Vicarate
After the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, the Apostolic Vicariate of Abyssinia was suppressed on 25
March 1937. From its territory three new apostolic prefectures were formed
(Gondar, Tigray and Dessie), while Danakil was annexed to the (Latin-Church) Apostolic
Vicariate of Eritrea. A new Apostolic Vicariate of Addis Abeba was created, with territory
corresponding to that of Shewa Governorate. Unlike the other vicariates and prefectures, which
were placed in the care of missionary institutes, the Addis Abeba jurisdiction was entrusted to
its secular clergy.
After the defeat of the Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War II), clergy of
Italian nationality, including the apostolic vicars and prefects, were expelled from Ethiopia.
Pastoral care of the Catholics in Ethiopia was attended to by Ethiopian and Eritrean clergy,
almost all of whom followed the Ge'ez Rite. Those that came to Addis Ababa were natives of the
Apostolic Prefecture of Tigray. Accordingly, at the end of 1942, all the Catholic faithful in
Ethiopia were made subject to Kidane Maryam Kahssay, Titular Bishop of Thibaris, Ordinary
for Ethiopic-Rite indigenous Catholics in Eritrea.
In 1950, Hailemariam Kahsay a native of the then Apostolic Prefecture of Tigray, which within a
decade was to be replaced by the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat, was made Apostolic
Administrator of the Ethiopic-Rite faithful resident in all of Ethiopia, and on 24 February 1951
he was appointed Titular Bishop of Sozusa in Libya.
On 31 October 1951, a new apostolic exarchate for Ethiopic-Rite Catholics (the Eastern
equivalent of a Latin apostolic vicariate), to be called that of Addis Abeba, was established,
coextensive with the Ethiopian Empire. (Eritrea, then federated with Ethiopia, was not annexed
to the Empire until 1960,) This is presented in the Annuario Pontificio as the first origin of
today's Metropolitan Archeparchy of Addis Abeba. Hailemariam Kahsay became its first exarch.
Addis Ababa as Metropolitan See and Archeparchy
On 20 February 1961, the year after Eritrea became part of the Ethiopian Empire, Pope John
XXIII established an ecclesiastical province for Ethiopic-Rite Catholics living in the Empire.
The apostolic exarchate of Addis Abeba became its metropolitan see and thus an archeparchy. It
was given two suffragan eparchies: that of Asmara (previously, like Addis Abeba, an apostolic
exarchate) and the eparchy of Adigrat. The jurisdictional area of Addis Abeba was reduced to the
territories that had been assigned in 1937 to the Latin apostolic vicariate of Addis Abeba and the
apostolic prefectures of Gondar, Dessie and Endeber. From then on, there have been in Ethiopia
(excluding Eritrea) no overlapping of Latin and Ethiopic jurisdictions.
On 9 April 1961, Hailemariam Kahsay was appointed the first Eparch of Adigrat, his native area,
and his successor in Addis Abeba was Asrate Mariam Yemmeru, transferred from the see of
Asmara.
Asrate Mariam Yemmeru was born on April 4, 1904, in Debrebrahan, in the Empire of Ethiopia.
He is ordained a priest, the June 11, 1934. He is appointed Apostolic Exarch of Asmara, Eritrea,
and in that capacity, Titular Eparch of Urima, Syria, the February 3, 1958. He received the
episcopal consecration of Hailemariam Kahsay, archeparch of Addis Ababa, on July 6, 1958. He
is named Archeparch of Addis Ababa, in April 9, 1961.
As a Council Father, he participated in the four sessions of the Second Ecumenical Vatican
Council, held in Rome from 1962 to 1965. He resigned from his ministry on February 24, 1977,
takes the title of Emeritus Bishop of Addis Ababa, which he retains until his death, September
10, 1990. On 1 March 1973 Paulos Tzadua was chosen as auxiliary bishop of Addis Abeba and
was consecrated bishop on 20 May 1973 by Archbishop Asrate Mariam Yemmeru. On 24
February 1977 he succeeded to Archbishop Asrate Yemmeru as Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop
of Addis Abeba. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santissimo Nome di Maria in Via Latina in
the consistory of 25 May 1985, being the first Ethiopian Cardinal.
At the age of seventy-seven, Paulos Tzadua retired as head of the Archdiocese of Addis Abeba
on 11 September 1998. He died in Rome on 11 December 2003, and his funeral were officiated
by Pope John Paul II. He was buried in Addis Abeba.
Immediately before the repose of the late Cardinal Paulos Tzadua on 7 November 1997
Brehaneyesus Demirew Surophel was chosen as auxiliary bishop of Addis Abeba and was
consecrated bishop on 25 January 1998 by Cardinal Paulos Tzadua. On 7 July 1999 he succeeded
to Cardinal Paulos Tzadua as Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop of Addis Abeba.
On 25 November 2003, the Eparchy of Emdeber was established on territory taken from the
archeparchy as a second Ethiopian suffragan see. By then the Eparchy of Asmara had been
divided into four eparchies, so that the suffragan sees of the Archeparchy of Addis Abeba were
six.
On 19 January 2015, the number of suffragan sees was reduced to three through, on the one
hand, the setting up of a third Ethiopian eparchy, that of Bahir Dar-Dessie, with territory taken
from that of the metropolitan archeparchy, and, on the other hand, the separation of the four
Eritrean eparchies to form the distinct Eritrean Catholic Church.
Biblograpphy
 Alberto, A. 1998 Apostolic Vicariate of Galla: a Capuchin Mission in Ethiopia (1846-1942):
Antecedents, Evolution and Problematics. Rome.

 Ayele Tekle-Haymanot The struggle for the ‘ethiopianisation’ of the Roman Catholic
tradition. In: Getatchew Haile, A. Lande & S. Rubenson, eds., The Missionary Factor in
Ethiopia, pp. 135-154. Frankfurt/M.: Peter Lang.
 Musie Ghebreghiorghis 1984 Franciscan missionaries to Ethiopia during the early
Renaissance. Quaderni di Studi Etiopici 3-4: 34-62.
 O’Mahoney, K. 1982-87 Ebullient Phoenix: a History of the Vicariate of Abyssinia, 1839-
1860.Asmara: Ethiopian Studies Center, 2 volumes, 236 p.; 306 p.