The Catholic Church in the Gambia 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 Diocese of Banjul covers the whole of the country.

History

The history of the Catholic Church in the Gambia is closely linked to Senegal. In 1445 Portuguese arrived on the coast of West Africa with the first attempts of Evangelism. Further attempts at evangelism would be carried out by French missionaries in 1849. Between 1849 and 1949, Catholicism was largely limited to Banjul. From the ecclesiastical point of view, only in 1931 was born the mission of the Gambia, entrusted to the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

, detached from the Apostolic vicariate of Senegambia. In 1951 was erected the Apostolic Prefecture of Bathurst (now Banjul), which became a diocese in 1957 immediately subject to

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 R ...

. In 1992

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited Gambia and gave further impetus to the interest in Christian-Muslim relations within the Catholic community. The Pope stressed the importance of the good relations existing between the two. He stated “we are all pilgrims on the path of seeking to do God’s will in everything. Although we differ in many ways, there are important elements of our respective faiths which can serve as a basis for fruitful dialogue and a strengthening of the spirit of tolerance and mutual help”. He met with leaders of the Muslim community, and Muslims were present at the Mass he celebrated at the Independence Stadium while in the Gambia.

Organization and institutions

In 2008 the Catholic Church is present in the territory with the sole Diocese of Banjul, immediately subject to the

. At the end of 2004 the Catholic Church of The Gambia counted: * 56 parishes * 26 priests * 42 religious sisters * 57 schools * 9 charities. The Catholic population amounted to 34,400 Christians, equal to 2.10% of the population. The episcopate of the Gambia is part of the Catholic Church in Inter-territorial Catholic Bishops' Conference of The Gambia and Sierra Leone.

Interfaith relations

Gambia is a predominantly Muslim country (approximately 94% of the population). Relations between the Muslim and Christian communities in Gambia are generally very good. The Catholic Church operates various missions including schools which children of Muslim parents attend. Of the minority Christian population, there are around 30,000 Catholics, which represents around 2% of the population.

Bibliography

*Guide of the Catholic missions in 2005, by the Congregation for the evangelizatione gentium, Rome, Urban University Press, 2005.

References

External links