Catholic Church in Tunisia

The 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

The Catholic church in Tunisia presently comprises only a single Latin 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.

Archdiocese

There are around 30,700 Catholics in this predominantly Islamic country, which forms a single diocese – the Archdiocese of Tunis. Accordingly, the only Catholic cathedral is that of St. Vincent de Paul in Tunis. The building was completed in 1897, while Tunisia was a French protectorate. Catholic influence during the colonial period also included extensive missionary work by the French Primate of Africa, Cardinal Lavigerie. The cathedral in his time was the church of 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

Tunisian independence

From the late 19th century to after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of Christian French, Italian and Maltese descent (255,000 Europeans in 1956). 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.

Facilities

In 2022, Catholics formed the majority (around 24,000 out of 30,000) of Christians in the country. 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. Occasionally, Catholic religious groups held services in private residences or other locations.

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.

Freedom of religion

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

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-02-09 20:22 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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