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TheCatholic Church in the Caribbean part of theKingdom of the Netherlands is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of thePope inRome.
Nearly 80% of the population is Catholic and the whole area is part of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Willemstad. The diocese consists of the territory of theKingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean: theCaribbean Netherlands (the islands ofBonaire,Sint Eustatius andSaba) as well as the countries ofAruba,Curaçao andSint Maarten. The French part of the island ofSaint Martin belongs to theRoman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre.
Erected as theapostolic prefecture ofCuraçao in 1752, it was elevated to aVicariate in 1842, and finally the Diocese of Willemstad in April 1958. The Diocese is currently a suffragan of theArchdiocese of Port of Spain inTrinidad. The current bishop is Luigi Antonio Secco, who succeeded in October 2001.
The Catholic Church in Aruba is part of the worldwideCatholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of thePope inRome. The predominant religion ofAruba is Catholicism, but there is no territorial jurisdiction in Aruba, which is covered by theDiocese of Willemstad inCuraçao.
In 1701Dominican priest Jean Baptiste Labat visitedSaba and wrote the earliest extant record of the island. In 1836 Msgr. Martinus Niewindt, theApostolic Prefect of theRoman Catholic Church of theNetherlands Antilles, visitedSint Maarten andSint Eustatius before arriving on Saba with the purpose of evangelization. He came withVenezuelan priest Manuel Romero who had been a political refugee inCuraçao since the previous year. Between the two men, they spoke French, Dutch, and Spanish. A woman fromGuadeloupe who was on the island spoke French and helped the two men communicate with the English-speaking Sabans. The day after their arrival, 21 June 1836, the firstCatholic mass was said on Saba. Following the mass, five children were presented forbaptism and Englishcatechisms were distributed liberally amongst the population. The island has had a Catholic majority ever since.[1]
Three Catholic churches on the island are:Sacred Heart Church in the town ofThe Bottom,St. Paul's Conversion Church inWindwardside and theHoly Rosary Church (Heilige Rozenkranskerk) in the village ofHell's Gate.[2][3][4]
