The Catholic Church in Turkey 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 ...

and the canonical leadership of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

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 ...

that is submitted to the Pope. Cathédrale du Saint-Esprit d'Istanbul

Demographics

In the 2000s, there are around 35,000 Catholics, constituting 0.05% of the population. The faithful follow the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and

Chaldean Rite The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Litur ...

s. Most

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

Catholics are

Levantines The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

of mainly

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

or French background, with a few are ethnic Turks, who are usually either converts via marriage to Levantines or other non-Turkish Catholics, or are returnees from Europe who converted there, and who may often be still registered as Muslim by the government. Byzantine, Armenian, and Chaldean rite Catholics are generally members of the Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian minority groups respectively. Turkey's Catholics are concentrated in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Incidents

The Catholic Christian community was shocked when Father

Andrea Santoro Andrea Santoro (7 September 1945, in Priverno, Italy – 5 February 2006, in Trabzon, Turkey) was a Roman Catholic priest in Turkey, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donu ...

, an Italian missionary working in Turkey for 10 years, was shot twice in February 2006 at his church near the Black Sea. He had written a letter to the Pope asking him to visit Turkey.

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 ...

visited Turkey in November 2006. Relations had been rocky since

had stated his opposition to Turkey joining the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. Turkey's Council of Catholic Bishops met with the Turkish prime minister in 2004 to discuss restrictions and difficulties such as property issues. On June 6, 2010, Bishop

Luigi Padovese Luigi Padovese (31 March 1947 – 3 June 2010) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who became a bishop and served as the Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia in Turkey. He was a Franciscan and a scholar who devoted most of his career to teachin ...

, the Vicar Apostolic of Turkey, was killed. Sent Antuan Latin Katolik Kilisesi ön cepheden (2)

Organization

: ** Archdiocese of Izmir ***seat in Izmir ***Cathedral: St. John's Cathedral, Izmir ***Jurisdiction: archdiocese without suffragan dioceses ** Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia ***seat in Iskenderun ***Cathedral:

Cathedral of the Annunciation, Iskenderun A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

***Co-Cathedral: St. Anthony of Padua Co-Cathedral, Mersin ***Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to 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 ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul The Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Istanbulensis) is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate based in the city of Istanbul in Turkey.Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

***Cathedral: Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul, Basilica minor ***Basilica minor: St. Anthony of Padua Basilica, Istanbul,

***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

: ** Archeparchy of Istanbul ***seat in

***Cathedral: Holy Mother of God Armenian Cathedral Church, Istanbul ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church ( el, Ελληνική Βυζαντινή Καθολική Εκκλησία, ''Ellinikí Vizantiní Katholikí Ekklisía;'') or the Greek Catholic Church is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic particular church of ...

: ** Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul ***seat in

***Cathedral:

Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral, Istanbul Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral in Istanbul ( tr, Ayatriada Rum Katoliki Kilise), also called Holy Trinity Rum Catholic Church, is the cathedral of the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on Hamalbaşı Cadde ...

(Ayatriada Rum Katoliki Kilise)Rumkatkilise.org/
/ref> ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the

* Syriac Catholic Church: ** Exarchate of Turkey ***seat in

***Cathedral: ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the Syriac Catholic Church * Chaldean Catholic Church: ** Archdiocese of Diarbekir ***seat in Beyoğlu,

***Cathedral: St. Mary's Cathedral, Diyarbakır ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the

Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Babylon The Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Baghdad, or simply the Chaldean Patriarchate ( la, Patriarchatus Chaldaeorum), is the official title held by the primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church. The patriarchate is based in the Cathedral of Mary Moth ...

References

External links

The Catholic Church in Turkey
by GCatholic.org {{Navboxes , list= {{Asia topic, Catholic Church in, groupstyle=background-color:gold, titlestyle=background-color:gold {{Asia topic, Christianity in {{Frankokratia

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Demographics

Incidents

Organization

See also

References

External links