# Catholic Church in Lesotho > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Catholic_Church_in_Lesotho > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Catholic_Church_in_Lesotho.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Lesotho > Source revision: 1232824241 > 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 Lesotho highlighted in red The **Catholic Church in [Lesotho](/source/Lesotho)** is part of the worldwide [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church), under the spiritual leadership of the [Pope](/source/Pope) in [Rome](/source/Rome). In 2020, over 90 percent of the population were Christians;[1] followers of traditional religion, along with [Muslims](/source/Muslims), [Hindus](/source/Hindus) and [Baha'is](/source/Baha'is), constitute the remainder. In 2020, Catholics accounted for 45 percent of the population.[2] However, other estimates were much higher.[3] Christians are scattered throughout the country, while Muslims live mainly in the northeastern part of the country. Most practitioners of Islam are of Asian origin, while the majority of Christians are the indigenous Basotho. Many Christians still practice their traditional cultural beliefs and rituals along with Christianity. The Catholic Church has fused some aspects of local culture into its services. For example, the singing of hymns during services has developed into a local and traditional way of singing (a repetitive call and response style) in Sesotho, the indigenous language, as well as [English](/source/English_language). In addition priests are seen dressed in local dress during services. The prominent role of the Catholic Church in the country derives from the successful establishment of Catholic schools in the 20th century and their influence over education policy. The Catholic Church used to own about 75 percent of all primary and secondary schools in the country, and was instrumental in establishing the [National University of Lesotho](/source/National_University_of_Lesotho); as of 2007, however, it owned less than 40 percent of the primary and secondary schools.[4] The Catholic Church helped found the [Basotho National Party](/source/Basotho_National_Party) (BNP) in 1959 and sponsored it in the independence elections in 1966. Most members of the BNP are practicing Catholics. The BNP ruled the country from independence in 1966 until 1985 when it was overthrown in a military coup. The then-opposition [Basutoland Congress Party](/source/Basutoland_Congress_Party) (BCP) historically has been aligned with the Protestant [Lesotho Evangelical Church](/source/Lesotho_Evangelical_Church).[5] There are 4 dioceses including one [archdiocese](/source/Archdiocese): - [Maseru](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Maseru) - [Leribe](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Leribe) - [Mohale’s Hoek](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Mohale%E2%80%99s_Hoek) - [Qacha’s Nek](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Qacha%E2%80%99s_Nek) ## See also - [Religion in Lesotho](/source/Religion_in_Lesotho) - [List of saints from Africa](/source/List_of_saints_from_Africa) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-US2022_1-0)** [US State Dept 2022 report](https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/Lesotho) *This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain).* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ARDA_2-0)** [The ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-28](https://thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=130c&u=23r) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08](https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/lesotho) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-report_4-0)** [International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Lesotho](https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90104.htm). United States [Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor](/source/Bureau_of_Democracy%2C_Human_Rights_and_Labor) (September 14, 2007). *This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain).* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [US State Dept 2009 report](https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5617.htm) *This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain)* 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 Lesotho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Lesotho) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Lesotho?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.