# Catholic Church in Libya

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Catholic Church of [Massah](/source/Massah%2C_Libya) in 1940

The Cathedral of Tripoli in the 1960s.

A view of Benghazi Cathedral in the 1960s, along the city's corniche.

The **Catholic Church in Libya** is part of the worldwide [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church) (particularly the [Latin Church](/source/Latin_Church)), under the spiritual leadership of the [Pope](/source/Pope) in [Rome](/source/Rome).

## Characteristics

Among the Catholics are [Italian Libyans](/source/Italian_Libyans) and [Maltese](/source/Malta) Libyans. Thousands of Filipino Catholic nurses moved to Libya during the 1980s and 1990s. The Italians were the majority of the Catholics in Libya until their expulsion in 1969 by Colonel [Gaddafi](/source/Gaddafi).

There are no dioceses in Libya, but there are four territorial jurisdictions - three [Apostolic Administrations](/source/Apostolic_Administration) and one [Apostolic Prefecture](/source/Apostolic_Prefecture).

- [Apostolic Vicariate of Benghazi](/source/Apostolic_Vicariate_of_Benghazi)

- [Apostolic Vicariate of Derna](/source/Apostolic_Vicariate_of_Derna)

- [Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli](/source/Apostolic_Vicariate_of_Tripoli)

- [Apostolic Prefecture of Misrata](/source/Apostolic_Prefecture_of_Misrata)

## History

Christianity has been present in Libya since [Roman times](/source/Roman_Libya). Saint [Francis of Assisi](/source/Francis_of_Assisi) brought his faith to [Tripoli](/source/Tripoli%2C_Libya) in the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages).

The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in the Old City - Medina of [Tripoli](/source/Tripoli%2C_Libya) was founded in 1645 and, with the permission of the Sultan of [Constantinople](/source/Constantinople), the Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Benghazi in 1858.

Before [World War II](/source/World_War_II) the number of Catholics increased in Libya due to its status as an [Italian colony](/source/Italian_Libya), but the Catholic [Cathedral of Tripoli](/source/Tripoli_Cathedral) (built in the 1920s) was converted to a [mosque](/source/Mosque) in the 1990s by [Muammar Gaddafi](/source/Muammar_Gaddafi)'s regime.[1] The other Catholic cathedral in Libya, the [Benghazi Cathedral](/source/Benghazi_Cathedral) is under renovation as a stock exchange.

## 21st century

The Catholic population in Libya was estimated to number 100,000 in 2012 many of them are mostly of [Italian](/source/Italian_settlers_in_Libya) and Maltese ancestry.[2] In 2017 there were only 300 Catholics in Libya.[3] In 2023, it is believed that there are less than 20,500 Catholics in the country.[4]

There are two Catholic churches in Libya, the Church of San Francesco in [Tripoli](/source/Tripoli%2C_Libya) (led until 2017 by [Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli](/source/Giovanni_Innocenzo_Martinelli)) and the Maria Immacolata Parish Church in [Benghazi](/source/Benghazi), both of which are led by [Franciscan](/source/Franciscan) priests from the Province of St. Paul the Apostle ([Malta](/source/Malta)).[5] Each church is made up of "personal parishes" based on language, with each personal parish assigned its own priest.

## See also

- [Religion in Libya](/source/Religion_in_Libya)

- [Christianity in Libya](/source/Christianity_in_Libya)

- [Protestantism in Libya](/source/Protestantism_in_Libya)

- [Copts in Libya](/source/Copts_in_Libya)

- [Italian Libyans](/source/Italian_Libyans)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Photos of Libyan catholic churches (in Italian)](http://www.paolocason.it/Libia/Pagine/Luoghi%20di%20Culto.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110109024355/http://www.paolocason.it/Libia/Pagine/Luoghi%20di%20Culto.html) 2011-01-09 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Morgan, Jason; Falola, Toyin; Oyeniyi, Bukola Adeyemi (2012). [*Culture and Customs of Libya*](https://books.google.com/books?id=R65iYMCuK6gC). ABC-CLIO. p. 40. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-313-37860-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-37860-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Martinelli refuses to leave his last 300 Catholics (in Italian)](https://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/02/17/vescovo-di-tripoli-padre-martinelli_n_6696068.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [The Association of Religion Archive website, Retrieved 2023-07-05](https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=132c#IRFDEMOG)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Catholic Church in Libya"](http://ofm.org.mt/churchinlibya/). *Franciscan Province of St. Paul the Apostle (Malta)*. Order of Friars Minor - St. Paul the Apostle Province.

## External links

- [Official website of the Catholic Church in Libya](http://ofm.org.mt/churchinlibya/)

v t e Demographics of Libya Religions Islam Sunni Shia Christianity Coptic Orthodox Catholic Protestant Jews Ethnic groups Arabs Arab-Berber Bedouin Dawada Ouled Slimane Berbers Circassians Filipinos Italian Tuareg Toubou Copts Doms Turks

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Catholic Church in Libya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Libya) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Libya?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.