The Catholic Church in Western Sahara is part of the worldwide Catholic Church (particularly the Latin Church), under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Western Sahara is one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world. The World Factbook estimates put the indigenous population to be entirely Muslim. The Christian community is largely composed of around 260 expatriateSpaniards out of a resident population of over 587,000.[2]
There are no dioceses in the country, with the entire country forming a single apostolic prefecture, originally administered by the Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni which was founded on July 5, 1954. It was later renamed as the Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara on May 2, 1970, and subsequently as the Apostolic Prefecture of Western Sahara on May 2, 1976. There are 2 parishes, 2 religious priests and 2 lay religious brothers as of 2014.[3]
Only three Apostolic Prefects have overseen the territory since 1954: Félix Erviti Barcelona,[4] from July 19, 1954, until his retirement on July 6, 1994, Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez from July 10, 1994, until his retirement in 2009, and the Apostolic Prefect-elect, Mario León DoradoOMI, appointed by Pope Francis on June 24, 2013, who had formerly been Chief of the Apostolic Prefecture.[5][6]
Spanish Cathedral in El-Aaiún, Western Sahara (Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of West Sahara)[8]
Spanish cathedral in Dakhla . Western Sahara [1]
Referencesedit
^"Prefecture Apostolic of Western Sahara". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. from the original on 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^. www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^"Apostolic Prefecture of West Sahara". www.gcatholic.org. from the original on 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^Cheney, David M. (October 2006). "Father Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez Catholic-Hierarchy". from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
^Cheney, David M. (October 2006). "Father Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez Catholic-Hierarchy". from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
^. w2.vatican.va. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2016-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Catholic Dioceses in Western Sahara". GCatholic.org. from the original on 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^"Cathedrals in Western Sahara". GCatholic.org. from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
External linksedit
Western Sahara on Catholic-Hierarchy.org
November 30, 2023
catholic, church, western, sahara, part, worldwide, catholic, church, particularly, latin, church, under, spiritual, leadership, pope, rome, francis, assisi, cathedral, laayouneour, lady, mount, carmel, church, dakhla, contents, history, apostolic, prefectures. The Catholic Church in Western Sahara is part of the worldwide Catholic Church particularly the Latin Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome St Francis of Assisi Cathedral LaayouneOur Lady of Mount Carmel Church Dakhla Contents 1 History 2 Apostolic Prefectures 3 Cathedrals 4 References 5 External linksHistory editWestern Sahara is a former Spanish colony and the Catholic faith was introduced via Spanish colonialism and prior Portuguese exploration Prior to Spain s abandoning the country in 1975 there were over 20 000 Spanish Catholics who formed roughly 32 of the total population before the Moroccan occupation 1 Western Sahara is one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world The World Factbook estimates put the indigenous population to be entirely Muslim The Christian community is largely composed of around 260 expatriate Spaniards out of a resident population of over 587 000 2 There are no dioceses in the country with the entire country forming a single apostolic prefecture originally administered by the Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni which was founded on July 5 1954 It was later renamed as the Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara on May 2 1970 and subsequently as the Apostolic Prefecture of Western Sahara on May 2 1976 There are 2 parishes 2 religious priests and 2 lay religious brothers as of 2014 3 Only three Apostolic Prefects have overseen the territory since 1954 Felix Erviti Barcelona 4 from July 19 1954 until his retirement on July 6 1994 Acacio Valbuena Rodriguez from July 10 1994 until his retirement in 2009 and the Apostolic Prefect elect Mario Leon Dorado OMI appointed by Pope Francis on June 24 2013 who had formerly been Chief of the Apostolic Prefecture 5 6 Apostolic Prefectures editCatholic Apostolic Prefecture of West Sahara 7 Cathedrals editSpanish Cathedral in El Aaiun Western Sahara Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of West Sahara 8 Spanish cathedral in Dakhla Western Sahara 1 References edit Prefecture Apostolic of Western Sahara www catholic hierarchy org Archived from the original on 2016 11 19 Retrieved 2016 11 11 CIA World Factbook Western Sahara www cia gov Archived from the original on 2016 11 15 Retrieved 2016 11 11 Apostolic Prefecture of West Sahara www gcatholic org Archived from the original on 2016 12 18 Retrieved 2016 11 11 Cheney David M October 2006 Father Acacio Valbuena Rodriguez Catholic Hierarchy Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 Retrieved 2007 06 07 Cheney David M October 2006 Father Acacio Valbuena Rodriguez Catholic Hierarchy Archived from the original on 2007 04 29 Retrieved 2007 06 07 APPOINTMENT OF THE APOSTOLIC PREFECT OF WESTERN SAHARA w2 vatican va Archived from the original on 2013 07 29 Retrieved 2016 11 11 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Catholic Dioceses in Western Sahara GCatholic org Archived from the original on 2016 12 18 Retrieved 2016 11 11 Cathedrals in Western Sahara GCatholic org Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 Retrieved 2016 11 11 External links editWestern Sahara on Catholic Hierarchy org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Catholic Church in Western Sahara amp oldid 1144128734, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
