{{Short description|Catholic Church in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands}} {{Additional citations|date=February 2023}} [[File:Basilica Santa Ana, Willemstad, Curaçao.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica of St. Anne, Willemstad|Basilica of St. Anne]] in [[Willemstad]], [[Curaçao]]]] The '''Catholic Church in the Caribbean part of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]''' is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the [[Pope]] in [[Rome]].
Nearly 80% of the population is Catholic and the whole area is part of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Willemstad]]. The diocese consists of the territory of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] in the Caribbean: the [[Caribbean Netherlands]] (the islands of [[Bonaire]], [[Sint Eustatius]] and [[Saba (island)|Saba]]) as well as the countries of [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]] and [[Sint Maarten]]. The French part of the island of [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]] belongs to the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre]].
Erected as the [[apostolic prefecture]] of [[Curaçao]] in 1752, it was elevated to a [[Vicariate]] in 1842, and finally the Diocese of Willemstad in April 1958. The Diocese is currently a suffragan of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain|Archdiocese of Port of Spain]] in [[Trinidad]]. The current bishop is Luigi Antonio Secco, who succeeded in October 2001.
==Aruba== The Catholic Church in Aruba is part of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]], under the spiritual leadership of the [[Pope]] in [[Rome]]. The predominant religion of [[Aruba]] is Catholicism, but there is no territorial jurisdiction in Aruba, which is covered by the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Willemstad|Diocese of Willemstad]] in [[Curaçao]].
==Saba== In 1701 [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] priest Jean Baptiste Labat visited [[Saba (island)|Saba]] and wrote the earliest extant record of the island. In 1836 Msgr. Martinus Niewindt, the [[Apostolic Prefect]] of the Roman Catholic Church of the [[Netherlands Antilles]], visited [[Sint Maarten]] and [[Sint Eustatius]] before arriving on Saba with the purpose of evangelization. He came with [[Venezuela]]n priest Manuel Romero who had been a political refugee in [[Curaçao]] since the previous year. Between the two men, they spoke French, Dutch, and Spanish. A woman from [[Guadeloupe]] 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 first [[Catholic mass]] was said on Saba. Following the mass, five children were presented for [[baptism#Catholicism|baptism]] and English [[Catechism of the Catholic Church|catechisms]] were distributed liberally amongst the population. The island has had a Catholic majority ever since.<ref name="History of Saba">{{cite web |last1=Dr. Hartog |first1=J. |title=History of Saba |url=https://www.saba-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/History-of-Saba-J.-Hartog.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822141855/https://www.saba-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/History-of-Saba-J.-Hartog.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |publisher=saba-news.com |access-date=22 August 2021 }}</ref>
Three Catholic churches on the island are: [[Sacred Heart Church, Saba|Sacred Heart Church]] in the town of [[The Bottom]], [[St. Paul's Conversion Church, Saba|St. Paul's Conversion Church]] in [[Windwardside]] and the [[Holy Rosary Church, Saba|Holy Rosary Church]] (''Heilige Rozenkranskerk'') in the village of [[Hell's Gate, Saba, NA|Hell's Gate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Bottom, 3, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba |url=https://www.gcatholic.org/churches/caribbean/15571.htm |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=www.gcatholic.org}}</ref><ref name="Uncommon Attraction">{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Steve |title=Saba St. Paul's Conversion Church, Uncommon Attraction |url=https://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/saba/uncommon-attraction-sabas-st-paul-conversion-church/ |access-date=2024-08-19 |publisher=Uncommon Caribbean}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, Hell’s Gate, 3, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba |url=https://www.gcatholic.org/churches/caribbean/15572.htm |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=www.gcatholic.org}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Catholic Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands}} {{Americas topic|Catholic Church in|title=Catholic Church in the [[Americas]]}}
[[Category:Catholic Church in the Dutch Caribbean| ]] [[Category:Catholic Church in Aruba]] [[Category:Religion in Bonaire]] [[Category:Catholic Church in Curaçao]] [[Category:Christianity in Saba (island)]] [[Category:Religion in Sint Eustatius]] [[Category:Christianity in Sint Maarten]]