The Catholic Church in Monaco is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The country forms a single archdiocese: the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monaco The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monaco ( la, Archidioecesis Monoecensis) is an exempt Latin ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Monaco, directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical prov ...

, which is part of the Catholic Church in France since the beginning of its history. Per the

Constitution of Monaco The Constitution of Monaco, first adopted in 1911 after the Monégasque Revolution and heavily revised by Prince Rainier III on 17 December 1962, outlines three branches of government, including several administrative offices and a number of coun ...

(Art. 9) Catholicism is the official church of Monaco, and is the majority religion;

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

is also guaranteed by the constitution. In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.

Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (in French language: ''Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-Immaculée''), but sometimes called Saint Nicholas Cathedral (name of the old church which was demolished in 1874), or Monaco Cathedral (Fr ...

is the

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 denominatio ...

of the Monaco archdiocese. Other Catholic churches include the Saint Charles Church, Church St. Devote, Saint Martin Church, and Saint Nicholas Church. Catholic chapels include the Chapel of Mercy, Chapel of the Sacred Heart, and the Carmelite Chapel. The former Chapel of Visitation is now an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

. In 2020, there were 32,000 Catholics in Monaco (83.16% of the population); Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
/ref> there were 24 priests and 11 nuns serving across 6 parishes. Other estimates put the Catholic population at 90%;US State Dept 2022 report
/ref> the remainder of the country is made up of Jews (3%), Protestants (2%) and Russian Orthodox (1%) with small numbers of Greek Orthodox, Muslims and others.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Monaco official website
{{Catholicism in Europe

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...