Mission sui iuris

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A mission sui iuris, or in Latin missio sui iuris (plural missions sui iuris); also spelled mission(s) sui juris), also known as an independent mission, is a rare type of Roman Catholic missionary pseudo-diocesan jurisdiction, ranking below an apostolic prefecture and an apostolic vicariate, in an area with very few Catholics, often desolate or remote.

The clerical head is styled Ecclesiastical Superior; he can be a regular cleric, titular or diocesan bishop, archbishop or even a cardinal, but if of episcopal rank often resides elsewhere (notably, in another diocese or the Vatican) in chief of his primary office there.

It can either be exempt (i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, like Apostolic prefectures and Apostolic Vicariates), or suffragan of a Metropolitan Archbishop, hence part of his ecclestiastical province.

Current missions sui iuris

As of July 2015, the only remaining cases — all of the Latin Church — were:

In Asia :

In the Atlantic Ocean:

In the Caribbean:

In Oceania :

Those for which no province is named are exempt, i.e. directly under the Holy See.

Former missions sui iuris

by continent and (present/colonial) country

(possibly very incomplete; ?all Latin)
In Europe 
In Asia 
In America 
In Oceania 
In Africa 

See also

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