North Africa

This blog will discuss the Catholic Church in Algeria, Egypt, and the Sudan. 

Algeria

Catholicism came to Algeria in or soon after apostolic times, but mostly disappeared after the Muslim conquest in 709.  Missionaries returned after the French conquest in 1830.  More than a million Europeans, mostly Catholic, fled Algeria after the nation gained its independence in 1962.

Algeria’s 43 million people are almost all Muslim.  Other religions account for less than one percent of the population.  There were 900,000 Catholics in Algeria in 1950, but today, there are five to seven thousand.

Algeria has one ecclesiastic province—Algiers.  There is also the Diocese of Laghouat, which is immediately subject to the Pope.  It was established as the Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaia in 1901 and became an apostolic vicariate in 1948.  It was promoted as the Diocese of Laghouat in 1955.  The pro-cathedral is in Ghardaia.

Province of Algiers

The province consists of the northern areas of Algeria.  The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Algiers began as a Mission sui juris in 1632, became an apostolic vicariate in 1651, a diocese in 1838, before becoming a metropolitan archdiocese in 1866.

Sacred Heart Cathedral in Algiers was completed in 1956 and became the cathedral in 1962.  The cathedral is made of reinforced concrete and has a floor plan in the shape of a fish—a symbol of Jesus.  A central cylindrical tower lets in natural light.  The Cathedral also has a mural from 324.  The Cathedral replaced the Cathedral of St. Philip.  A 1612 mosque was demolished by the French to build St. Philip’s Cathedral, but the building became a mosque in 1962 after Algerian independence.

The first picture is from Pinterest and the others are from Wikipedia.

The Province has two suffragan dioceses.

• The Diocese of Constantine was established in the 3rd Century, but was suppressed around 700.  It was restored in 1866.
• The Diocese of Oran was created in 1866.

Egypt

Egypt is one of the world’s oldest civilizations.  In the 7th Century, it was conquered by the Arabs, who introduced Islam.  Egypt became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517 and was taken over by Great Britain in 1882.  It gained full independence in 1952.  Catholicism came to Egypt in Apostolic times—St. Mark is considered to have been the first Bishop of Alexandria.     

Egypt has 104 million people and 90 percent are Muslim.  The 10 percent who are Christian mostly belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church.  The Coptic Orthodox Church split from Rome in the 5th Century over a dispute on the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ.  

There are about 270,000 Catholics—185,000 belong to the Coptic-rite Catholic church, 65,000 belong to the Roman-rite Catholic church, and about 20,000 belong to one of five other eastern-rite Catholic churches.  There is one Catholic ecclesiastic province:  the Coptic-Catholic Patriarchal See of Alexandria.  The Coptics reunited with Rome in 1741.  Catholics in other rites generally came to Egypt during the British occupation or after Egyptian independence.  My May 9, 2017, blog discusses most Eastern rite churches.

Province of the Coptic-rite Patriarchal See of Alexandria

The province consists of all Coptic Catholics (including two Coptic parishes in the United States).  An apostolic vicariate was created in 1741 for Egypt’s Coptic Catholics and this became the Patriarchal See in 1824.  The Eparchy of Alexandria, which is the Patriarch’s direct eparchy, was established in 1895.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt is in Cairo.

From Wikipedia.

The Cathedral of the Resurrection is in Alexandria.

The Province has seven suffragan dioceses.

• The Eparchy of Luxor was created in 1895.
• The Eparchy of Minya was created in 1895.
• The Eparchy of Assiut was created in 1947.
• The Eparchy of Sohag was created in 1981.
• The Eparchy of Ismailia was created in 1982.
• The Eparchy of Giza was created in 2003.
• The Eparchy of Abu Qurqas was created in 2020.
• The Eparchy of Al Qusia was created in 2022.

Roman-rite

The Roman-rite Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt serves 65,000 Roman-rite Catholics in Egypt, most of whom are of Italian or Maltese descent.  The Vicariate has 16 parishes and is immediately subject to the Pope.  The Vicariate was established in 1839 and acquired its current name in 1987.  The Vicariate has three cathedrals.  The Cathedral of St. Catherine is in Alexandria, the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of Heliopolis is in Cairo, and the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Michael is in Port Said.

St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Alexandria was built in a neo-Baroque style between 1847 and 1856.  The Franciscans built it to serve both as cathedral and as the church for their monastery.  The Roman Baroque façade was added in 1927.

The first two pictures are from Pinterest and the last is from Wikipedia.

Our Lady of Heliopolis Co-Cathedral is in Heliopolis—a suburb of Cairo.  A Belgian developed Heliopolis in the early 20th Century and laid the foundation for the church in 1910.  The church was once the Cathedral for an apostolic vicariate in northern Egypt and became a co-cathedral for the Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria of Egypt in 2008.  The cathedral’s pipe organ was made in Belgium and has 1,470 pipes.  It is believed that the first pipe organ was built in Alexandria around 200 BC.  It used water pressure to pump air into the pipes.

Pictures are from Flickr and Wikipedia.

The Co-Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Michael in Port Said was once the cathedral for a separate apostolic vicariate serving southern Egypt.  It was built in 1937.

Pictures are from Alamy and Flickr.

Armenian-rite

The Armenian-rite Eparchy of Alexandria serves 6,500 Armenian-rite Catholics in Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan.  The Eparchy has 4 parishes and was established in 1885.  It is part of the Armenian Province of Cilicia, which is the Armenian Patriarch’s province based in Lebanon.  The Cathedral of the Annunciation opened in 1926 in Cairo.

From Wikipedia.

Chaldean-rite

The Chaldean-rite Eparchy of Cairo serves 1,000 Chaldean-rite Catholics in Egypt in three parishes.  The Eparchy was established in 1980 and is immediately subject to the Chaldean Patriarch.  The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima is in Cairo.  Pope John Paul II designated the cathedral as a minor basilica in 1993.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Greek-Melkite-rite

The Greek-Melkite Patriarch, who resides in Damascus, Syria, is the Titular Patriarch of Alexandria.  The Titular Patriarchal See was established in 1838.  The 6,200 Greek-Melkite Catholics in Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan, are served by the Territory Dependent on the Patriarch, which has 14 parishes.  The Territory began in 1835 as a patriarchal vicariate, became a patriarchal exarchate in 1992, before being demoted to its current status in 1997.  There were 35,000 Greek Melkites in Egypt prior to the Second World War, but most left.  Today, they are mostly of Syrian or Lebanese descent.

The Territory has two Cathedrals:  the Cathedral of the Dormition in Alexandria and the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Cairo.  

Alexandria cathedral from Flickr.

Maronite-rite

The Maronite-rite Eparchy of Cairo serves 6,300 Maronite-rite Catholics in Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan.  The Eparchy has 7 parishes and was established as an apostolic vicariate in 1904 and became an eparchy in 1946.  It is immediately subject to the Maronite Patriarch.  The Cathedral of St. Joseph is in Cairo.  Most Maronite Catholics in Egypt are originally from Syria or Lebanon.

Syriac-rite

There are 1,500 Syrian-rite Catholics in Egypt in three parishes.  They are served by the Syriac Eparchy of Cairo, which was established in 1965 and is immediately subject to the Syrian Patriarch.  The Cathedral of the Holy Rosary is in Cairo.

Sudan

Catholicism came to Sudan from Egypt in the 4th Century, but it declined over centuries of Arab Muslim rule.  By 1600, there were essentially no Christians in Sudan.  Catholic missionaries returned in the last half of the 19th Century and met with some success.  Sudan was controlled by the British beginning in 1898, but gained its independence in 1956.  The southern part of Sudan broke off in 2011 and became South Sudan.

Sudan has 46 million people and almost all are Muslim.  There are between 500,000 and 1.2 million Catholics.  The Roman-rite Catholics are served by the Province of Khartoum.  There are also some Armenian-rite, Greek-Melkite-rite, Maronite-rite, and Syriac-rite Catholics in Sudan under the jurisdiction of bishops in Egypt.

Province of Khartoum

The province consists of Sudan.  The Apostolic Vicariate of Central Africa was established in 1846 and was renamed Khartoum in 1913.  It was promoted to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Khartoum in 1974.

St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Khartoum was completed in 1908 in a neo-Romanesque style.  It has one tower, several turrets and spires, and a large rose window. 

The first three pictures are from Pinterest and the last three are from Wikipedia.

The Province has one suffragan diocese.

• The Diocese of El Obeid was created as an apostolic vicariate in 1960 and became a diocese in 1974.

Definitions

The Catholic Church is mostly divided into ecclesiastical provinces—a province consists of a metropolitan archdiocese and one or more dioceses.  The province and the archdiocese are led by an archbishop.  Each of the dioceses is called a suffragan diocese and is led by a bishop.  Archbishops have some responsibilities for the province, but all bishops answer directly to the Pope.  There are also mission territories below the level of a diocese, which include apostolic prefectures, apostolic vicariates, and Missions sui juris.

Most Catholics in the world belong to the Latin or Roman rite.  Rite refers to liturgical practices, ecclesiastical discipline, and spiritual heritage.  Many Catholics belong to one of two dozen Eastern rite churches.  Eastern rite churches trace their heritage to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  Eastern rite churches sometimes use different terminologies.  For example, a diocese might be called an eparchy and is led by an eparch.  A vicariate apostolic is called an exarchy and is led by an exarch. 

A basilica is an honorary title bestowed on a church by the Pope because of the church’s antiquity, dignity, historical importance, or significance as a center of worship.  Some cathedrals are also basilicas.  Each basilica has a ceremonial umbrella in the papal colors of white and yellow and a ceremonial bell.  Both of these are symbolic of the Pope’s special relationship to the basilica.