Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Church, Dakhla
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The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church ( ) alternatively Church of Dakhla or simply Church of Villa Cisneros is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
located in the town of Dakhla (called before 1975 Villa Cisneros) located in the territory of
Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...
in dispute with
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and is considered by the latter nation as part of the region of Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab ( or ''région de Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab''). The temple follows the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
or
Latin Rite Latin Rite may refer to: *The Latin Church, a ''sui iuris'' church of the Catholic Church *The Latin liturgical rites, a family of Christian rites and uses which includes the Roman Rite *The Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritua ...
. It is part of the
apostolic prefect An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...
ure of Western Sahara (''Praefectura Apostolica Sahara Occidentali''). This prefecture was established in 1954 by
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
with the bull ''Summi Dei voluntate'' with the name of Apostolic Prefecture of the
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...
, because by then the territory was a colonial dependency of Spain. The temple is run by a small group of priests who take turns responsibilities to attend this church, besides the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi in
Laayoune Laayoune or El Aaiún (, Latn, ar, al-ʕuyūn , , ) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is the ''de jure'' capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it ...
. It was built by the Spaniards for what sometimes is called Spanish Church.


See also

*
Catholic Church in Western Sahara 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. History Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony, and the Catholic faith was i ...
*
Catholic Church in Morocco The Catholic Church in Morocco is part of the worldwide Catholic Church (particularly the Latin Church), under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Catholics account less than 1% of the overall population of over 31 million. The country ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Church Roman Catholic churches in Western Sahara Roman Catholic churches completed in 1954 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings 1954 establishments in Spanish Sahara