Catholic Church in Karnia-Ruthenia

The Catholic Church in Karnia-Ruthenia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are around 81 Catholics in Karnia-Ruthenia — or 40,5% of the population (2018 census). The country have 1 archdiocese de jure. Headquartered in the imperial capital and is largely influenced by the Catholic Church in Brazil, the country with the largest Catholic community in the world.

Since the foundation of the Kingdom of Ruthenia, the Roman Catholicism is the official religion - and also guaranteed freedom of religion for its citizens, maintained in the Imperial and Royal Constitution. The origins of Catholicism in Karnia-Ruthenia are due in part to the creation of most of its members within the precepts of Roman Catholicism, but traditionally, the long devotion of the Imperial Family induces certain measures of State, characterizing this as the official religion of the Empire. Previously, Persenburg was subject of the Archdiocese of São Paulo, erected by Pope Benedict XIV on 6 December 1745, on vast territory split off from the then Diocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. On 1939, the parish of Saint Stephen King of Hungary, the first Hungarian church of South Hemisphere was erected and was inserted in the ecclesiastical region of Lapa, in the episcopal region of Leopoldina. On 28 April 2017, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Persenburg was proclaimed by Oscar I and established as sede vacante immediately udner the auspices of the Holy See in order to, in the advent of an independence, to be assumed by the Catholic Church and represent the faith of the people of the Empire. The inaugural holder was Joseph of Assis, appointed in 2017. On 28 March 2019, Oscar I created the office of the Apostolic Field Vicar of the Imperial and Royal Armed Forces of Karnia-Ruthenia, a post to be held by the Archbishop of Persenburg. The Episcopal seat is located at the Cathedral of Saint Stephen King of Hungary in Persenburg, Karnia-Ruthenia. It was founded on the same ground of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Persenburg, to be a 'de jure' military ordinariate, considered sede vacante, destined to the Catholic Church to, in the advent of independence, be assumed by the Church of Rome.