Holy See–Ivory Coast relations refers to the current relationship between the

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 ...

and the

Republic of Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...

, which was established in 1970. A significant amount of

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 ...

s live in Ivory Coast, being nearly one-fifth of the population, and the two states are considered to have a cordial relationship. Ivory Coast maintains an embassy in

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 ...

near

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, while the Holy See has an apostolic nunciature in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

. The current ambassador of Ivory Coast to the Vatican is Séverin Mathias Akeo. Archbishop Joseph Spiteri's tenure as

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 Ivory Coast ended on 7 March 2018.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named Ante Jozić to replace him on 2 February 2019, but Jozić was seriously injured in a car accident in Croatia on 7 April and his consecration as bishop has been delayed.

History

The two states first established diplomatic relations in October 1970.

High level visits

President

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

. The two of them discussed relations between their two countries, as well as the role of the Catholic Church in Ivory Coast and the progress that country has been making in recent years since the

2010–11 Ivorian crisis 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

. They also discussed the possibility of signing a bilateral framework agreement, similar to the ones that the Holy See signed with other African countries, which would specify the legal status of the Church in Ivory Coast.Pope receives president of Ivory Coast
Vatican News Network. Published 16 November 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy See-Ivory Coast relations 1970 establishments 1970 in Christianity Ivory Coast Bilateral relations of Ivory Coast

History

High level visits

See also

References