The Catholic Church in Guyana 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 ...

. Bishops in Guyana are members of Antilles Episcopal Conference. Like most other nations that form the AEC, the Apostolic delegate to the

bishops' conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

is also the

Apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to the country, currently American archbishop

Thomas Edward Gullickson Thomas Edward Gullickson (born August 14, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as an apostolic nuncio in the Holy See diplomatic corps since 2004. Gullickson was posted to Switzerland and Liechtenstein from ...

. According to the 2012 census, Guyana has 52,901 Catholics, (7.08% of the total population). The country forms a single diocese, the Diocese of Georgetown, established in 1956.

Cultural impact

Various Catholic organization have been involved in Guyana, including the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, Sisters of Mercy, and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara. Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church of

Santa Rosa, Guyana Santa Rosa is a community in the Barima-Waini region of northern Guyana. Santa Rosa mission was established in 1840, and is one of the earliest Catholic Missions in Guyana. The village is part of the North West Amerindian District. Overview The ...

of the Moruca sub-region was founded in 1818 for the

Amerindians The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

in the area. Many schools were founded by Catholics, although most have since been nationalized, such as St. Rose's High School and St. Stanislaus College. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

had sole legal rights in Guyana until 1899, when the Catholic Church among others was given equal status. Most Catholics are

Portuguese Guyanese A Portuguese Guyanese is a Guyanese whose ancestors came from Portugal or a Portuguese who has Guyanese citizenship. Demographics People of Portuguese descent were mainly introduced to Guyana as indentured laborers to make up for the exodus of ...

. Its first native bishop,

Benedict Ganesh Singh Benedict Garnesh Singh (2 December 1927 – 12 September 2018) was a Guyanese Roman Catholic bishop. Singh was born in Lusignan (Guyana), Lusignan, Demerara, Guyana. He obtained his Licentiate (degree), Licentiate in Philosophy from the Urban ...

was ordained in 1971. During the era of President

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Prime Minister from 1964 ...

, severe restriction on freedom of speech affected many organizations including the ''Catholic Standard''. The

murder of Bernard Darke On 14 July 1979 Bernard Darke, a British-born, Guyana-based Jesuit priest and photographer for the ''Catholic Standard'', was stabbed to death by members of the House of Israel, a religious cult closely tied to the People's National Congress, wh ...

which was meant for

Andrew Morrison Andrew Morrison, SJ (5 June 1919 – 26 January 2004) was a Guyanese Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, journalist, and pro-democracy activist. Early life and education Morrison was born on 5 June 1919 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He attended hig ...

(both Jesuit priests), was a reaction to the paper's criticism of the government.

Notable people

* Stephen Campbell, first Amerindian

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

* Mary Noel Menezes, Roman Catholic nun and historian

References

External links

Diocese of Georgetown site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church in Guyana Guyana Guyana

Cultural impact

Notable people

See also

References

External links