Catholic Church in Bulgaria
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The Catholic Church is the fourth largest religious congregation in Bulgaria, after Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam and Protestantism. Its roots in the country date to the Middle Ages and are part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Demographics
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In the country's 2021 census, 0.7% of the population (approximately 49,000 people) stated that they were Catholic.[1] This compared to 48,945 people in 2011,[2] 43,811 in 2001 and 53,074 in 1992.
The vast majority of the Catholics in Bulgaria in 2001 were ethnic Bulgarians and the rest belonged to a number of other ethnic groups such as Croatians, Italians, Arabs and Germans.
Bulgarian Catholics live predominantly in the regions of
Bulgarian Catholics are descendants of three groups. The first were converted
Geographical distribution
In 2011, most Catholics lived in the province of Plovdiv (19,502 Catholics), followed by the city of Sofia (5,572 Catholics) and the provinces of Pleven (5,164 Catholics) and Veliko Tarnovo (3,276 Catholics)
Municipality | Catholic population 2011[3] | % of those who answered | % of the total population |
---|---|---|---|
Rakovski Municipality | 11,400 | 53.2% | 43.2% |
Sofia | 5,572 | 0.5% | 0.4% |
city of Plovdiv | 3,681 | 1.4% | 1.1% |
Kaloyanovo Municipality | 2,630 | 23.5% | 22.1% |
Svishtov Municipality | 2,396 | 7.5% | 5.6% |
Belene Municipality | 1,872 | 31.9% | 18.1% |
Levski Municipality | 1,504 | 11.0% | 7.5% |
Varna Municipality | 1,203 | 0.5% | 0.4% |
Pleven Municipality | 1,173 | 1.0% | 0.9% |
Bulgaria as whole | 48,945 | 0.8% | 0.7% |
History
Bulgarian Empire
Although the presence of Catholicism existed during the reign of
Ottoman rule
Nonetheless, Catholic missionaries renewed their interest in Bulgaria during the 16th century, after the
By 1700, however, the Ottomans began persecuting Catholics and preventing their Orthodox subjects from converting.
Independent Bulgaria
After Bulgaria became independent, the Catholic Church again tried to increase its influence by opening schools, colleges, and hospitals throughout the country, and by offering scholarships to students who wished to study abroad. Bulgarian
Communist Bulgaria
The communist era was a time of great persecution for Catholics, nominally because Catholicism was considered the religion of fascism. Bulgarian communists also deemed Catholicism a foreign influence. Under communist rule, Catholic priests were charged with following Vatican orders to conduct antisocialist activities and help opposition parties. In 1949 foreign priests were forbidden to preach in Bulgaria, and the papal nuncio was forbidden to return to Bulgaria. Relations between the Vatican and Bulgaria were severed at that time. During the "Catholic trials" of 1951-52, sixty priests were convicted of working for Western intelligence agencies and collecting political, economic, and military intelligence for the West.;[4][5] Four priests were executed on the basis of these charges. In the early 1950s, the property of Catholic parishes was confiscated, all Catholic schools, colleges, and clubs were closed, and the Catholic Church was deprived of its legal status. Only nominal official toleration of Catholic worship remained.
Bulgaria since 1990
Like the practitioners of the other faiths, Catholics in Bulgaria have enjoyed greater religious freedom after the end of communist rule in 1989. Bulgaria reestablished relations with the Vatican in 1990, and the Bulgarian government invited Pope John Paul II to visit Bulgaria. The visit was carried from 23 to 26 May 2002 and was the first visit of a Catholic pope in the country.
In 2022 the Church opened its own radio station. Ave Maria radio was inaugurated with the presence of cardinal Leonardo Sandri, in Sofia.[6]
Churches and hierarchies
Latin Church
There is no ecclesiastical province for Catholics of the Latin Church (using the Roman Rite), nor suffragans of a neighbouring one, but only two exempt dioceses (i.e. directly subject to the Holy See):
- Diocese of Nicopolis, with cathedral see in Rousse.
Bulgarian Byzantine Catholic Church
Aside from the Latin Church, there is also the sui iuris Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church (for Bulgarian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite), which follows Bulgarian ecclesiastical traditions and uses Bulgarian language, established in 1926 and taking after several organisations created in the late 19th-century, most importantly the Macedonian Apostolic Vicariate of the Bulgarians.
It consists solely of a single
- Bulgarian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sofia, with its cathedral see in Sofia.
See also
- List of Catholic dioceses (structured view)
- Eastern Orthodoxy in Bulgaria
- Protestantism in Bulgaria
- Religion in Bulgaria
- Freedom of religion in Bulgaria
References
- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ "Население по местоживеене, възраст и вероизповедание" (in Bulgarian). Национален статистически институт. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ Religious composition: 2011 census
- ^ Kalkandjieva, D., “The Catholic Church in Bulgaria and the Cold War.” In: L’Europe et la Mediterranee: Strategies politiques et culturelles (XIXe et XXe siecles), Actes du colloque de Nancy-Malzeville (4, 5, 6 septembre 1997) sous la direction de G. Meynier et M. Russo, (Nancy: Presses universitaires de Nancy, France, L’Hartmattan, 1999), 229-241
- ISBN 9780415684903.
- ^ ACN (2 November 2022). "Cardinal Sandri: "What was a dream is now a reality"". ACN International. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
- Николов, А. Место и роль Болгарии в средневековой полемике православного Востока против католического Запада (на основе славянских переводных и оригинальных текстов XI-XIV вв.) - В: XVIII Ежегодная богословская конференция Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета. Т. 1. Москва, 2008, 123-127