The Catholic Church in Turkmenistan is part of the worldwide
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, under the spiritual leadership of the
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
History
All Catholic infrastructure in the country was destroyed by Soviet revolutionaries in the 1920s.
In 1997 a request was made to recognize the local Catholic community, but was refused since the local church was not headed by a
Turkmen.
In July 2010, the Catholic Mission received official government recognition and plans were started to both ask permission to build a Catholic church, and to reclaim a Catholic Armenian church in
Turkmenbasy that still stands in the west of the country, as well as a church building in
Sendar.
In the early 2000s, Mass was celebrated at the
apostolic nunciature
An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates.
The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...
in the capital and at parishioners' homes.
In 2020, there were 3 priests in the country, serving 300 Catholics in one parish.
Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
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See also
* Religion in Turkmenistan
* Christianity in Turkmenistan
* Chapel of the Transfiguration, Ashgabat
* Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan
External links
Profile of Catholic Church in Turkmenistan
References
{{Asia topic, Christianity in
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...