The Catholic Church in the Cape Verde is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The country is divided into two dioceses: Mindelo and Santiago de Cabo Verde.

In 2022, more than 94% of the population of Cape Verde is Christian, with almost 85% being Roman Catholic.[1] Other figures state that 77% of the population is Catholic.[2]

History

The Catholic Church was established by Portuguese traders in 1533 on the island.[3] Diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Cape Verde were established in 1976.[4]

The Diocese of Mindelo was divided from the original Diocese of Santiago in 2003, creating the current configuration of two diocese covering the island country.[3] In 2011, an agreement was signed between the Government of Cape Verde and the Vatican creating a legal foundation for the Catholic Church in the country, allowed for Catholic schools, and a church role in formalizing marriages.[5] On February 14, 2015, Pope Francis made Bishop Arlindo Gomes the first Cardinal from Cape Verde.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ World Religion Database 2020 at the ARDA website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
  2. ↑ International Religious Freedom Report 2022: Cape Verde. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cape Verde, Africa getting its first cardinal". Catholic News Agency. 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  4. ↑ "Agreement Ratified Between Holy See and Cape Verde". Zenit News Agency. 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  5. ↑ "Catholic Bishops of Cape Verde on their ad limina visit". Vatican Radio. 2014-09-10. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2015-03-05.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.