# Catholic Church in Equatorial Guinea > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Catholic_Church_in_Equatorial_Guinea > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Catholic_Church_in_Equatorial_Guinea.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Equatorial_Guinea > Source revision: 1318638236 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Part of a series on the Catholic Church by country Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Asia Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Kazakhstan Korea North Korea South Korea Kyrgyzstan Laos Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Middle East Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Cyprus Georgia Abkhazia Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Palestine Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen Europe Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Great Britain England and Wales Scotland Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine North America Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Oceania Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Catholic Church portal v t e Santa Isabel Cathedral in Malabo The **Catholic Church in [Equatorial Guinea](/source/Equatorial_Guinea)** is part of the worldwide [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church), under the spiritual leadership of the [Pope](/source/Pope) in [Rome](/source/Rome). In 2023 almost 90% of the population are Christian. Of these 71% are Roman Catholics, though there are also a few thousand [Protestants](/source/Protestants).[1][2] Equatorial Guinea has one of the highest proportions of Catholics in Africa, a legacy of its status as a former Spanish colony. There are five [dioceses](/source/Diocese), including one [archdiocese](/source/Archdiocese). Equatorial Guinea consists of a single ecclesiastical province, Malabo, with four suffragan dioceses in Bata, Ebebiyin, Evinayong and Mongomo. The [Archdiocese of Malabo](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Malabo) has the Archbishop of Malabo as metropolitan archbishop and spiritual leader of the catholic faithful of Equatorial Guinea. The current archbishop of Malabo is Nsue Edjang Mayé, former bishop of Ebebiyin. The [emeritus](/source/Emeritus) archbishop is [Ildefonso Obama Obono](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ildefonso_Obama_Obono&action=edit&redlink=1). The bishops are members of the [Episcopal Conference of Equatorial Guinea](/source/Episcopal_Conference_of_Equatorial_Guinea) (Conferencia Episcopal de Guinea Ecuatorial). President of the Episcopal Conference is Ildefonso Obama Obono, archbishop of Malabo. Furthermore, the Episcopal Conference is a member of the Association des Conferences Episcopales de l'Afrique Centrale and the Symposium des Conférences Épiscopales d'Afrique et de Madagascar. On April 1, 2017, the Holy See erected two new dioceses in Equatorial Guinea. The Diocese of Evinayong was erected from territories formerly belonging to the Diocese of Bata and the Diocese of Mongomo was carved out of the current Diocese of Ebebiyin.[3] On March 29, 2018, Archbishop [Julio Murat](/source/Julio_Murat), the titular archbishop of [Orange](/source/Ancient_Diocese_of_Orange), was appointed as the [Apostolic Nuncio to Equatorial Guinea](/source/Apostolic_Nunciature_to_Equatorial_Guinea).[4] He held the post until 9 November, 2022.[5] Archbishop [José Avelino Bettencourt](/source/Jos%C3%A9_Avelino_Bettencourt) was named as the new Apostolic Nuncio on August 30, 2023. ## Archdiocese - [Archdiocese of Malabo](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Malabo) ### Dioceses - [Diocese of Bata](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Bata) - [Diocese of Ebebiyin](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Ebebiyin) - [Diocese of Evinayong](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Evinayong) - [Diocese of Mongomo](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Mongomo) ## Nuncios ### Apostolic Pro-Nuncio - Archbishop [Luigi Poggi](/source/Luigi_Poggi) (31 October 1966 - 21 May 1969 later Cardinal) - Archbishop Ernesto Gallina (July 16, 1969 - March 13, 1971) - Archbishop [Jean Jadot](/source/Jean_Jadot) (15 May 1971 - 23 May 1973) - Archbishop Luciano Storero (30 June 1973 - 14 July 1976) - Archbishop Giuseppe Uhac (October 7, 1976 - June 3, 1981) - Archbishop Donato Squicciarini (16 September 1981 - 1 July 1989) - Archbishop [Santos Abril y Castelló](/source/Santos_Abril_y_Castell%C3%B3) (2 October 1989 - 24 February 1996) ### Apostolic Nuncio - Archbishop [Félix del Blanco Prieto](/source/F%C3%A9lix_del_Blanco_Prieto) (4 May 1996 - 28 June 1996) - Archbishop [Eliseo Antonio Ariotti](/source/Eliseo_Antonio_Ariotti) (17 July 2003 - 5 November 2009) - Archbishop [Piero Pioppo](/source/Piero_Pioppo) (January 25, 2010 - September 8, 2017) - Archbishop [Julio Murat](/source/Julio_Murat) (March 29, 2018 - November 9, 2022) ## See also - [Religion in Equatorial Guinea](/source/Religion_in_Equatorial_Guinea) - [Protestantism in Equatorial Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protestantism_in_Equatorial_Guinea&action=edit&redlink=1) - [Reformed Presbyterian Church of Equatorial Guinea](/source/Reformed_Presbyterian_Church_of_Equatorial_Guinea) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [ARDA website, Retrieved 2023-07-25](https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=75c) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [US State Dept, 2021 report](https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/equatorial-guinea/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Erection of the dioceses of Evinayong and Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, and appointment of the first bishops](http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2017/04/01/170401c.pdf/) (Accessed 1 April 2017) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Rinunce e nomine, 29.03.2018](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2018/03/29/0233/00509.html) (Accessed 31 December 2020) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Rinunce e nomine, 09.11.2022"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/09/0837/01748.html). Retrieved November 9, 2022. v t e Catholic Church in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Catholic Church in Equatorial Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Equatorial_Guinea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Equatorial_Guinea?action=history)). 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