The Roman Catholic Diocese of Djibouti () is the Latin sole

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

in the country of

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. It is exempt, i.e. directly 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 ...

and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its cathedral, Our Lady of the Good Shepherd Cathedral () is located in the national capital,

Djibouti City Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the capital city of the Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura. Djibouti has a population of around 780,000 ...

Statistics

As per 2021, it pastorally served 5,262 Catholics (0.6% of 916,200 total) on 23,200 km² in 5 parishes and a mission with 5 diocesan priests and 26 lay religious (5 brother, 21 sisters).

History

* Established on 28 April 1914, as ''

Apostolic Prefecture 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 ...

of Djibouti'', on the colonial territory of

French Somaliland French Somaliland (; ; ) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. The Republic of Djibouti is its legal successor state. History French Somalil ...

, canonically split off from the vast Apostolic Vicariate of Galla (based in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, from which also sprang the Apostolic Prefecture of Benadir, for

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

and

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

, which became the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio covering all modern

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

) * Promoted on 14 September 1955, as ''Diocese of Djibouti''.

Ordinaries

(all

Roman rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

and so far members of missionary Latin congregations) ;'' Apostolic Prefects of Djibouti'' * Friar Pasquale da Luchon, OFMCap (1914 – death 1923) * Fr. Marcelliano da La Guerche, OFMCap (22 October 1937 – death 1945) * Fr. Henri-Bernardin Hoffmann, OFMCap (28 September 1945 – 14 September 1955 ''see below'') ;''Exempt Bishops of Djibouti'' * Henri-Bernardin Hoffmann, OFMCap (''see above'' 14 September 1955 – death 21 March 1979) * Michel-Joseph-Gérard Gagnon, MAfr (28 March 1980 – retired 3 July 1987); later Bishop of Laghouat (

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, another former French colony) (4 February 1991 – death 1 June 2004) * Georges Perron, OFMCap (21 November 1992 – retired 13 March 2001), previously

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Apostolic Vicariate of Harar (

) (1982 – resigned 21 November 1992) * Giorgio Bertin, OFM (13 March 2001 – 13 January 2024), also

of Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio (Somalia) (1990– 13 January 2024) * Jamal Khader Daibes (13 January 2024 - Present), also

of Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio (Somalia) (13 January 2024 - present)

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djibouti, Catholic Diocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Djibouti Christian organizations established in 1914 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1914 establishments in Africa

Statistics

History

Ordinaries

See also

Sources and external links