The

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 ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

is part of the worldwide

, 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 ...

. According to the CIA Factbook, in 2018 17 percent of the population are members of the Catholic Church.

History

The first Catholics to enter what is today Burkina Faso arrived with the French colonialists in 1896.Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso, by Lawrence Rupley, Lamissa Bangali, Boureima Diamitani, 2013, Third edition, Scarecrow Press, Inc. In 1900 and 1901 Catholic missions were established at Koupéla and

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

, respectively and

Joanny Thévenoud Joanny Thévenoud (March 14, 1878 - September 16, 1949) was a French apostolic vicar of the White Fathers, best remembered for his missionary, ecclesiastical and public development work in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). Biography Born in Serri ...

, a missionary helped to firmly establish Catholicism in the country over the following five decades. Abbé Yougbaré was consecrated as the Bishop of Koupéla on 29 February 1956 and became the first African Catholic bishop.

Persecution

There have been several incidences of persecution against the Catholic Church in Burkina Faso over the past years. Recent cases include an attack on the minor seminary of Saint Kisito de Bougui, in February, which caused no fatalities, but much material damage. In July 2022 the diocese of Fadi N'Gourma stated that only 5% of its parishes were now accessible for pastoral work, due to the increased threat of Islamist terrorists in the region. An attack in a village in the Diocese of Nouma, also in July 2022, caused at least 22 fatalities, according to official numbers, though some witnesses spoke of up to 30 killed. In an interview with

Aid to the Church in Need In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

, in August 2022, Catholic priest Honoré Quedraogo said that the attackers "force the Burkinabé to follow Sharia. Men are forced to wear trousers of adequate length, and forbidden from shaving their beards, and women have to be veiled. Western-style education is banned, and children are made to attend Koranic schools, called Madrassas. Churches must not ring their bells, and everyone is required to participate in prayers at the mosques". In November 2022 a Burkinabé priest, Pierre Rouamba, said that he has noticed that the attacks are increasingly being directed against Christians. In some cases, terrorists not only burn down the church building, but also destroy the crosses as a demonstration of their intention to wipe out the Christian faith.

Dioceses

* Archdiocese of Bobo-Dioulasso ** Diocese of Banfora ** Diocese of Dédougou ** Diocese of Diébougou ** Diocese of Gaoua ** Diocese of Nouna *

Archdiocese of Koupéla In 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 provinces were administratively associate ...

** Diocese of Dori **

Diocese of Fada N’Gourma The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fada N'Gourma ( la, Dioecesis Fada Ngurmaënsis) is a diocese located in the city of Fada N’Gourma in the Ecclesiastical province of Koupéla in Burkina Faso. History * February 12, 1959: Established as Apostolic ...

** Diocese of Kaya ** Diocese of Tenkodogo * Archdiocese of Ouagadougou ** Diocese of Koudougou ** Diocese of Manga ** Diocese of Ouahigouya

References

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History

Persecution

Dioceses

See also

References