| Catholic Church in Ivory Coast | |
|---|---|
 The Cathédrale Saint-Augustin in Yamoussoukro | |
| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin,Maronite |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Apostolic Nuncio | Mauricio Rueda Beltz[1] |
| Region | Ivory Coast |
| Members | ca. 2,800,000 |
TheCatholic Church inIvory Coast is part of the worldwideCatholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of thePope inRome. Catholicism arrived in Ivory Coast through the arrival ofFrench settlers.
The Catholic Church is the world's largest Christian church, and its largest religious grouping. There are an estimated 2.8 million baptised Catholics in Ivory Coast, 17.2% of the population (according to the 2014 Census),[2] in 15dioceses. There are 2,000priests and 1,200 men and women in religious orders.[3]
TheBasilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro inYamoussoukro, is the largest church in the world, larger even thanSt. Peter's Basilica in Rome[citation needed].
In 1634, the first missionaries, sixCapuchin firars fromSaint-Malo, landed at Abiany, today calledAssinie. Though they were initially welcomed by the locals, the mission failed as four of the priests died due to fever and the remaining two fled to thePortuguese fort inAxim in 1638.[4]
In 1961, upon invitation from local Catholics participating at the "International Meetings" at themonastery of Toumliline, theBenedictine established themonastery of St. Marie de Bouake.[5] The Capuchins maintain again a presence in the country since December 1976, and the mission was proclaimed aCustody on 1 January 1984.[6]Bernard Yago became the first cardinal of the country on 2 February 1983 when he was consecrated byPope John Paul II asCardinal-Priest ofSan Crisogono.[7] He was one of the few priests in the Ivory Coast who openly opposed the construction of the gargantuanbasilica, modeled onSt. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, built by the former presidentFélix Houphouët-Boigny in his home village ofYamoussoukro because of the enormous waste of hundreds of millions of dollars, and attempted to persuade Pope John Paul II from consecrating it during his visit to the country.[8]
Due to the presence of around 3,000 LebaneseMaronites, there is also a Maronite parish in Abidjan that was founded in 1954 by theLebanese Maronite Order. The parish belongs to theMaronite Catholic Eparchy of the Annunciation.[9][10]
Within Ivory Coast the hierarchy consists of:
.svg)
