Bordj-Bou-Djadi

Bordj-Bou-Djadi is an archaeological site and former Catholic diocese located on the outskirts of Tunis, Tunisia. The area is situated near Ucres, at 36.901123n, 9.97083e. It is now a Latin Catholic titular see.

## History[edit]

extract of the Tabula Peutingeriana showing Roman Ucres, Roman North Africa, during 4th century.

The stone ruins at Bordj-Bou-Djadi have been tentatively identified with the Roman–Berber town of Ucres, a civitas of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, important enough to become one of the many suffragans of Carthage, the Metropolitan at its capital.[1][2] It flourished from 30BC until around 640AD.

Several of its bishops are known from antiquity:[3]

* Vitalis fl. 314, participant at the Council of Arles in 314 which condemned Donatism as heresy.
* Victor fl. 404, whose son left an epitaph in Rome
* Maximinus participated in the Council of Carthage in 411 with other Catholic and Donatist bishops, including his schismatic counterpart Vitalis, 411
* Quoduultdeus fl. 416–429, participated in the Council of Carthage in 419 on appeals to Rome
* Exitiosus fl. 484, participated in the Council of Carthage called in 484 by king Huneric of the Vandal Kingdom, after which he was exiled, like most Catholic bishops.

## Titular see[edit]

The ancient diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin titular bishopric of the Roman Catholic Church,[4] as Ucres (Latin and Curiate Italian) / Ucren(sis) (Latin adjective)/

It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank:

* Franz Hoowaarts, Vocationists (S.V.D.) (1934.11.12 – 1946.04.11) as only Apostolic Vicar of Caozhoufu 曹州府 (China) (1934.11.12 – 1946.04.11), promoted first Bishop of Caozhou 曹州 (Tsaochowfu, China) (1946.04.11 – death 1954.03.24)
* Bernard Denis Stewart (1946.12.12 – 1950.08.18) as Coadjutor Bishop of Sandhurst (Australia) (1946.12.12 – 1950.08.18), succeeded as (first native) Bishop of Sandhurst (1950.08.18 – retired 1979.04.21); died 1988
* Antônio Batista Fragoso (1957.03.13 – 1964.04.28) as Auxiliary Bishop of São Luís do Maranhão (Brazil) (1957.03.13 – 1964.04.28), later Bishop of Crateús (Brazil) (1964.04.28 – retired 1998.02.18); died 2006
* Antulio Parrilla-Bonilla, Jesuits (S.J.) (1965.05.25 – death 1994.01.03) as Auxiliary Bishop of Caguas (Puerto Rico, US) (1965.05.25 – retired 1968) and on emeritate
* Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo (1994.06.25 – 2003.05.30) as Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina) (1994.06.25 – 2003.05.30); later Bishop of San Martín (Argentina) (2003.05.30 – ...)
* Edgar Moreira da Cunha, Divine Word Missionaries (S.D.V.) (2003.06.27 – 2014.07.03) as Auxiliary Bishop of Newark (New Jersey, USA) (2003.06.27 – 2014.07.03), later Bishop of Fall River (USA) (2014.07.03 – ...)
* Roy Edward Campbell (2017.03.08 – ...), Auxiliary Bishop of Washington (DC, USA) (2017.03.08 – ...).

## See also[edit]

* List of Catholic dioceses in Tunisia

## References[edit]

1. ^ Titular Episcopal See of Ucres
2. ^ Ucres.
3. ^ Mandouze, André; Destephen, Sylvain (1982). PCBE. ISBN 9782222021742.
4. ^ Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 172, Number 14,448

## Sources and external links[edit]

* GCatholic (titular) bishopric

Bibliography

* J. Mesnage, L'Afrique chrétienne, Paris 1912, pp. 51–52