The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church ( es, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen french: Eglise de Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel) alternatively Church of Dakhla or simply Church of Villa Cisneros is a

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activities, ...

located in the town of Dakhla (called before 1975 Villa Cisneros) located in the territory of

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

in dispute with

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

. It is part of the apostolic prefecture of Western Sahara (''Praefectura Apostolica Sahara Occidentali''). This prefecture was established in 1954 by Pope Pius XII with the bull ''Summi Dei voluntate'' with the name of Apostolic Prefecture of the

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

, 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 Laâyoune ( , also , ) or El Aaiún ( , ; Hassaniya Arabic: , romanized: ; ber, ⵍⵄⵢⵓⵏ, Leɛyun; ar, label= Literary Arabic, العيون, al-ʿUyūn/el-ʿUyūn, lit=The Springs) is the largest city of the disputed territory of We ...

. It was built by the Spaniards for what sometimes is called Spanish Church.

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

See also

References