The Roman Catholic Diocese of Djibouti ( la, Gibuten(sis)) is the Latin sole

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

in the country of

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and its missionary

Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. It has its

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

episcopal see, the Our Lady of the Good Shepherd Cathedral, Djibouti (French Marian Cathédrale de Notre-Dame du Bon-Pasteur; dedicated to Our Lady of the Good Shepherd), in the national capital

Djibouti City Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; so, Magaalada Jabuuti, french: link=no, Ville de Djibouti, ar, مدينة جيبوتي, aa, Gabuutî Magaala) is the eponymous capital of Dji ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 5,000 Catholics (0.6% of 850,000 total) on 23,200 km² in 5 parishes and a mission with 4 diocesan priests and 29 lay religious (1 brother, 28 sisters).

History

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

* Established on April 28, 1914, as Apostolic Prefecture of Djibouti, on the colonial territory of

French Somaliland French Somaliland (french: Côte française des Somalis, lit= French Coast of the Somalis so, Xeebta Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which time it became the French Ter ...

, canonically split off from the vast

Apostolic Vicariate of Galla The Apostolic Vicariate of the Galla ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Africae inter Populos Galla) was a Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate established in 1846, and embracing the territory of the Oromo people (then called the Galla) in the Ethiopian ...

(based in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, from which also sprang the Apostolic Prefecture of Benadir, for

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...

and

Italian Somaliland Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...

, which became the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadishu ( la, Mogadiscen(sis)) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in the city of Mogadishu, Somalia. The area of the diocese coincides with that of the country. It is the only diocese in Somalia. The ...

covering all modern

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

) * Promoted on September 14, 1955, as Diocese of Djibouti.

Ordinaries

(all

Roman rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

and so far members of missionary Latin congregations) ;'' Apostolic Prefects of Djibouti'' * Friar Pasquale da Luchon, Capuchin Friars Minor (O.F.M. Cap.) (1914 – death 1923) * Fr. Marcelliano da La Guerche, O.F.M. Cap. (1937.10.22 – death 1945) * Fr. Henri-Bernardin Hoffmann, O.F.M. Cap. (1945.09.28 – 1955.09.14 ''see below'') ;''Exempt Bishops of Djibouti'' * Henri-Bernardin Hoffmann, O.F.M. Cap. (''see above'' 1955.09.14 – death 1979.03.21) * Michel-Joseph-Gérard Gagnon, White Fathers (M. Afr.) (1980.03.28 – retired 1987.07.03); later Bishop of

Laghouat Laghouat ( ar, الأغواط; en, Laghwat) is the capital of the Laghouat Province, Algeria, south of the Algerian capital Algiers. Located in the Amour Range of the Saharan Atlas, the town is an oasis on the north edge of the Sahara Dese ...

(

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, another former French colony) (1991.02.04 – death 2004.06.01) *

Georges Perron Georges Marcel Émile Nicolas Perron (12 January 1925 – 6 May 2021) was a French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Djibouti from 1992 until his retirement in 2001. Georges Perron was born on January 12, 1925, as ...

O.F.M. Cap. The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

(1992.11.21 – retired 2001.03.13), previously

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the

Apostolic Vicariate of Harar The Apostolic Vicariate of Harar ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Hararensis) is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate located in the city of Harar in Ethiopia. The Vicariate Apostolic of Harar comprises East and West Hararghe zones and Fentale and ...

(

) (1982 – resigned 1992.11.21) * Giorgio Bertin,

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachin ...

(O.F.M.) (2001.03.13 – ), also

(Somalia) (1990– ...)

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo

Roman Catholic dioceses in Djibouti Christian organizations established in 1914 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century {{Africa-RC-diocese-stub

Statistics

History

Ordinaries

See also

Sources and external links