Catholic Church in Tunisia

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Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul in Tunis
is now the only Catholic cathedral in the country.

The Catholic Church in Tunisia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

Dioceses

See also: List of Catholic dioceses (structured view)

The Catholic church in

archbishopric, in the national capital Tunis
 :

There are no Eastern Catholic, pre-diocesan or other exempt jurisdictions in Tunisia.

As this solo-episcopate warrants no national conference, it partakes in the regional Episcopal conference of Northern Africa (French: Conférence Episcopale Régionale du Nord de l’Afrique, C.E.R.N.A.) together with Algeria, Morocco (hosting the headquarters in Rabat), Western Sahara and Libya, the 'Great Maghreb' (Arab region West of Egypt).

There is also an

Apostolic Nunciature (papal diplomatic representation at embassy-level) to Tunisia, which is however vested in the Apostolic Nunciature to neighbour Algeria (in Algiers
).

All defunct jurisdictions are precursors of current (residential or, mostly, titular) sees.[1]

Archdiocese

There are around 30,700 Catholics in this predominantly

Saint Louis in Carthage, was also built in the 19th century, when the archdiocese, under Cardinal Lavigerie, held the primacy of all Roman Africa
.

Titular sees

See also:
Africa Proconsularis, and Byzacena

Tunisian independence

From the late 19th century to after

Italian and Maltese descent (255,000 Europeans in 1956).[2] The number of Catholics fell following Tunisian independence. The ownership of many Catholic buildings, including the Saint Louis Cathedral, was transferred to the state under a modus vivendi reached between the Holy See and the Republic of Tunisia.[3]

Facilities

In 2022, Catholics formed the majority (around 24,000 out of 30,000) of Christians in the country.[4] In the past, the Diocese of Tunis operates 12 churches, 9 schools, several libraries, and 2 clinics as well as holding religious services, running a monastery, freely organized cultural activities, and performed charitable work throughout the country.[5] Occasionally, Catholic religious groups held services in private residences or other locations.[5]

Ecumenical outreach

Pope John Paul II visited Tunisia on April 15, 1996, to give support to the Church there and called for a peaceful dialogue between Muslims and Christians across North Africa.[6][7]

Freedom of religion

In 2023, the country was scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom.[8] In the same year, it was ranked as the 36th worst place in the world to be a Christian.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ GCatholic - data for all sections
  2. ISBN 978-0-19-922721-1
    . Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Holy See, Tunisia Sign Accord; Church Cedes Considerable Property", The Guardian 17 July 1964
  4. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
  5. ^
    Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
    .
  6. ^ William D. Montalbano, Pope Seeks Tolerance in Visit to Tunisia. Los Angeles Times. April 13, 1996.
  7. ^ William D. Montalbano. Pope Urges Dialogue With Muslims. Los Angeles Times. April 15, 1996. There are an estimated 8.5 million Muslims in Tunisia.
  8. ^ Freedom House website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  9. ^ Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-08

External links

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