The Catholic Church in Turkey 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 ...

and the canonical leadership of the

curia Curia (: 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 probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

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, ...

that is submitted to the Pope.

Demographics

In the 2000s, there are around 25,000 Roman Catholics, constituting 0.05% of the population. The faithful follow the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

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 around 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 The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

Catholics are

Levantines The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultura ...

of mainly

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

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. By 2020, there were approximately 70 priests and 50 nuns serving in 52 parishes; the church also ran 6 hospitals and homes for the old and infirm.

Persecution

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 Catholic priest in Turkey, murdered in Trabzon where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donum missionary program. The murder w ...

, 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 BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. 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 Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia, Anatolia in Turkey. He was a Franciscan and a sc ...

, the Vicar Apostolic of Anatolia, was killed.

Organization

: ** Archdiocese of İzmir ***seat in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

***Cathedral:

St. John's Cathedral (İzmir) St. John's Cathedral () is a cathedral in İzmir, Turkey. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of İzmir. The cathedral is dedicated to John the Evangelist, who in the Book of Revelation sent greetings and instructions to the Seven chu ...

***Jurisdiction:

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

without

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

s **

Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia The Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia (, ) is a Roman Catholic Latin apostolic vicariate in the eastern half of Anatolia (Asian Turkey). The missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction is not part of any ecclesiastical province. It is under the directi ...

***seat in Iskenderun ***Cathedral: Cathedral of the Annunciation, Iskenderun ***Co-Cathedral: St. Anthony of Padua Co-Cathedral, Mersin ***Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul The Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul () is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate located in Istanbul, Turkey.

***seat in

***Cathedral: Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul,

Basilica minor Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural ...

***Basilica minor: St. Anthony of Padua Basilica, Istanbul ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the Holy See *

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

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

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

: ** Archdiocese of Diyarbakır ***seat in

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

, Istanbul ***Cathedral: St. Mary's Cathedral, Diyarbakır ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Babylon *

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (, ''Ellinórrythmi Katholikí Ekklisía'') or the Greek-Catholic Church of Greece is a '' sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic particular church of the Catholic Church that uses the Byzantine Rite in Koine Greek and ...

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

Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral, Istanbul Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral in Istanbul (), also called Holy Trinity Rum Catholic Church, is the cathedral of the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on Hamalbaşı Caddesi in the Beyoğlu district of Ista ...

(Ayatriada Rum Katoliki Kilise) ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the Holy See *

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

** Patriarchal Exarchate of Istanbul ***seat in Istanbul ***Church: Melkite Catholic Church Saint Pantaleon (historical) ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to Melkite PatriarchApostolic Letter "Orientalium Dignitas" on the preservation and protection of Oriental disciplines, Pope Leo XIII, 1894 (Latin)
/ref> *

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac ...

: ** Exarchate of Turkey ***seat in Istanbul ***Cathedral: ***Jurisdiction: Immediately subject to the

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, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Demographics

Persecution

Organization

See also

References

External links