HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Situated
in the northern part of Zambia, the Archdiocese of Kasama was founded in 1891 by the missionaries of Africa known as the WHITE
FATHERS.
This
was the first presence of the catholic priests in the present Archdiocese of Kasama.
The
place where they settled being Mambwe Mwela, 100 kilometers east of Mbala They stayed at Mambwe Mwela from 1891 till
1895.then they moved from Mambwe Mwela and established the mission of Kayambi.Two years later; the Nyansa Vicariate
was established, separated from Tanganyika to which it belonged until then. The new vicariate comprised the whole of North
and East of Zambia together with Malawi.
Bishop
Joseph Dupont, Missionary of Africa, of French origin, famously known as Motomoto-fire-fire, was the first Vicar
Apostolic of this vast vicariate. He was the first bishop consecrated on the Zambian soil, at Kayambi Mission;
on 15th August 1897.A further division on 28th January 1913 into Bangweule and Nyasa
Vicariate, gave the new Vicariate of Bangweulu a better chance of development.
Another
division took place on 23rd May 1933 when the mission of Abercorn (Mbala)
was separated from Bangweulu. The last division was effected on the 10th of July 1952, when the
western part of this vicariate became Fort Rosebery Prefecture (now Mansa Diocese in the Luapula Province)
Bangweulu Vicariate itself was then re-named the vicariate Apostolic of Kasama .It became the diocese of Kasama on the 25th
of April 1959 and on the 12th of June 1967 the Archdiocese of Kasama
was born.