HOME





Apostolic Prefecture Of Western Sahara
The Catholic Church in Western Sahara is part of the worldwide Catholic Church (particularly the Latin Church), under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. History Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony, and the Catholic faith was introduced via Spanish colonialism and prior Portuguese exploration. Prior to Spain's abandoning the country in 1975, there were over 20,000 Spanish Catholics, who formed roughly 32% of the total population before the Moroccan occupation. Western Sahara is one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world. The World Factbook estimates put the indigenous population to be entirely Muslim. The Christian community is largely composed of around 260 expatriate Spaniards out of a resident population of over 587,000. There are no dioceses in the country, with the entire country forming a single apostolic prefecture, originally administered by the Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni which was founded on July 5, 1954. It was ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and other individuals who have chosen to live outside their native country. The International Organization for Migration of the United Nations defines the term as 'a person who voluntarily renounces his or her nationality'. Historically, it also referred to exiles. The UAE is the country with the highest percentage of expatriates in the world after the Vatican City, with expatriates in the United Arab Emirates representing 88% of the population. Etymology The word ''expatriate'' comes from the Latin words and , from , . Semantics Dictionary definitions for the current meaning of the word include: :Expatriate: :* 'A person who lives outside their native country' (Oxford), or :* 'living in a foreign land' (Webster's). These definitio ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Catholic Church In Western Sahara
The Catholic Church in Western Sahara is part of the worldwide Catholic Church (particularly the Latin Church), under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. History Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony, and the Catholic faith was introduced via Spanish colonialism and prior Portuguese exploration. Prior to Spain's abandoning the country in 1975, there were over 20,000 Spanish Catholics, who formed roughly 32% of the total population before the Moroccan occupation. Western Sahara is one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world. The World Factbook estimates put the indigenous population to be entirely Muslim. The Christian community is largely composed of around 260 expatriate Spaniards out of a resident population of over 587,000. There are no dioceses in the country, with the entire country forming a single apostolic prefecture, originally administered by the Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni which was founded on July 5, 1954. It was ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Pope Gregory III, Gregory III. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family of Italian Argentines, Italian origin, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was Ordination#Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches, ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 pa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Missionary Oblates Of Mary Immaculate
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation was given recognition by Pope Leo XII on February 17, 1826. , the congregation was composed of 3,631 priests and lay brothers usually living in community. Their traditional salutation is ('Praised be Jesus Christ'), to which the response is ('And Mary Immaculate'). Members use the post-nominal letters "OMI". As part of its mission to evangelize the "abandoned poor", OMI are known for their mission among the Indigenous peoples of Canada, and their historic administration of at least 57 schools within the Canadian Indian residential school system. Some of those schools have been associated with cases of child abuse by Oblate clergy and staff. Foundation The "Society of Missionaries of Provence" was founded on January 25, 1816, in Ai ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Mario León Dorado
Fr. Mario León Dorado is a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, in the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is currently the Apostolic prefect of Western Sahara. Early life Mario León Dorado was born in Madrid, Spain on 17 March 1974. As he grew up, he decided that he wanted to undertake missionary work, taking his vows on 15 September 1996. He was later ordained as priest on 2 June 2001, and served for three years in the Province of Jaén in Spain, with a desire to be posted to a ministry in an Arabic region afterwards. This was following a visit to the Sahara area as a student. Western Sahara Upon the completion of the Jaén posting, he moved to the Sahara region and began to learn Arabic, French and English in order to better serve his parishioners. When he first arrived in the area, he was taken for a walk by Fr. Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez and told "these are your parishioners, all Muslims. Being with them is what you have to do". On 24 June 2013, he was appointed by Pope Francis as Apo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez
Fr. Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez (8 May 1922 – 4 May 2011) was the Roman Catholic Prefect for Roman Catholicism in Western Sahara, Western Sahara. He was ordained as priest in the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on 17 March 1945, and on July 10, 1994, John Paul II installed him in the Apostolic Prefecture of Western Sahara. Rodríguez had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on 8 June 2007. Fr. Rodríguez has also attended the Assembly of the Conference of Bishops of North Africa. He lived in El Aaiún. On 25 February 2009, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Fr. Rodríguez as Apostolic prefect of Western Sahara for age reasons. References

1922 births 2011 deaths Catholic Church in Western Sahara Spanish expatriates in Western Sahara 20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests People from Laayoune Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate {{WesternSahara-bio-stub ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Félix Erviti Barcelona
Félix Erviti Barcelona (29 July 1910 – 24 November 2000) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, in the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He was ordained as priest on February 19, 1933. Religious life He was appointed by Pope Pius XII as the first apostolic prefect of Spanish Sahara and Ifni on July 19, 1954. The Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni was formed by ripping out and merging territories that had earlier been under the purview of the apostolic vicariates in Morocco and Algeria. He served as the apostolic prefect of Western Sahara until May 2, 1994, when he was succeeded by Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez, although he remained as ''Prefect Emeritus'' of Western Sahara. He also served as a deputy member of the Conferencia Episcopal Española's first triennium in the 1966–1969 period and as a member in the second triennium between 1969 and 1972. Later life He was involved in running a school and a hospital in Laayoune. After the 1975 occupation of Western Sahara ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Apostolic Prefect
An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it usually has an (embryonal) see, it is often not called after such city but rather after a natural feature, or administrative geographical area, which may be a name in use by the local inhabitants, or one assigned by a colonial authority, depending on the circumstances under which the prefecture was established. If a prefecture grows and flourishes, it may be elevated to an apostolic vicariate, headed by a titular bishop, in the hope that with time the region will generate enough Catholics and stability for its Catholic institutions, to warrant being established as a diocese. Both these stages remain missionary, hence exempt, that is, directly subject to the Holy See, specifically the Dicastery for Evangelization, rather than, as a di ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern and Western European populations, exhibiting a high degree of continuity with other Indo-European-derived ethnic groups in the region. Spain is also home to a diverse array of national and regional identities, shaped by its complex history. These include various languages and dialects, many of which are direct descendants of Latin, the language imposed during Roman rule. Among them, Spanish (also known as Castilian) is the most widely spoken and the only official language across the entire country. Commonly spoken regional languages include, most notably, the sole surviving indigenous language of Iberia, Basque, as well as other Latin-descended Romance languages like Spanish itself, Catalan and Galician. Many populations outside Sp ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the Government Publishing Office. The ''Factbook'' is available in website and downloadable formats. It provides a two- to three-page summary of the demography, demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 266 international entities, including List of countries by date of recognition of the United States, U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world. ''The World Factbook'' is prepared by the CIA for the use of Federal government of the United States, U.S. government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements. It is also frequently used as a resource for academic research papers and n ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Church At Dakhla, Morocco - Western Sahara
Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Christian denomination, a Christian organization with distinct doctrine and practice * Christian Church, either the collective body of all Christian believers, or early Christianity Places United Kingdom * Church, a former electoral ward of Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council that existed from 1964 to 2002 * Church (Liverpool ward), a Liverpool City Council ward * Church (Reading ward), a Reading Borough Council ward * Church (Sefton ward), a Metropolitan Borough of Sefton ward * Church, Lancashire, England United States * Church, Iowa, an unincorporated community * Church Lake, a lake in Minnesota * Church, Michigan, ghost town Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Church magazine'', a pastoral theology magazine ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]