The Arusha Catholic Archdiocese began in 1926 with evangelization efforts by the Holy Ghost Fathers, who started a mission in the area then known as Mesopotamia. It was formally established as the Diocese of Arusha on March 1, 1963, after being separated from the Diocese of Moshi. The diocese was elevated to a Metropolitan Archdiocese on March 16, 1999. .
The evangelization efforts in the Diocese of Arusha began in 1926 with the establishment of the first mission station at Mesopotamia by the Holy Ghost Fathers of the Vicariate of Kilimanjaro. This station later developed into the present-day St. Theresa Parish.
The mission expanded with the opening of additional outstations: Usa River in 1939, Monduli in 1953, and Emboreet in Simanjiro in 1961, located 110 km south of Arusha. In 1962, another mission station was established at Kijungu, 420 km from Arusha.
Missionary activities covered a vast area that later formed the Diocese of Arusha, reaching from Mesopotamia in central Arusha to Usa River in the east, Monduli and Loliondo (North Maasai) in the northwest, Simanjiro, Kibaya, and Kijungu (South Maasai) in the south.
In 1963, Arusha was canonically established as a Diocese under the leadership of the American Holy Ghost Fathers. The late Rt. Rev. Bishop Dennis Vincent Durning, a key figure in the mission at Loliondo, was appointed as the first Bishop of Arusha.
Episcopal Leadership:
The Most Rev. Isaac Amani – Current Archbishop of Arusha
