Catholic Church in Togo

{{short description|none}} {{more citations needed|date=June 2023}} {{Catholic Church by country}} The '''Catholic Church in [[Togo]]''' is part of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]], under the spiritual leadership of the [[Pope]] in [[Rome]].

There are approximately 1,483,000 million Catholics representing approximately 25 percent of the total population of 5,968,000. There are seven [[diocese]]s, including one [[archdiocese]]:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current Dioceses in Togo [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/dtg2.html |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>

== History == The history of the Catholic Church in Togo began with the [[Evangelism|evangelization]] carried out by the missionaries of the [[Society of African Missions]] of [[Lyon]] starting in 1882; four years later the Togo mission was founded, but its founder, the priest Jeremiah Moran, was poisoned in 1886.

In 1892 the mission was entrusted to the [[Society of the Divine Word|Missionaries of the Divine Word]], and made an [[apostolic vicariate]] in 1914. Because of the [[World War I|First World War]], the Verbites, all Germans, were first interned and then expelled from the country. So evangelism passed again, in 1921, to the Fathers of the African missions: in 1930 there was the [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priestly]] ordination of the first Togolese.

On 15 September 1955 the ecclesiastical hierarchy was established and the country was divided into [[Diocese|dioceses]]. The Togolese [[Caritas Internationalis|Caritas]] (''Caritas togolaise'') was founded in 1967. In 1987, it merged with the Development Coordination Office (''Bureau de coordination pour le développement'') to become the [[Caritas Togo|Charity Organisation for Integral Development - Caritas Togo]]. Caritas Togo is the official aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Togo.<ref name=Break23>{{cite web |language= French |url= https://togobreakingnews.info/humanitaire-ocdi-caritas-togo-appelle-a-une-synergie-des-acteurs/ |title= Humanitaire: OCDI-Caritas Togo appelle à une synergie des acteurs |date= 25 April 2023 |website= togobreakingnews.info |access-date= 12 June 2024}}</ref>

In 1985, the Togolese Catholic Church received a pastoral visit from [[Pope John Paul II]].

On 8 April 2014, the [[Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments|Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments]] confirmed Saint John Paul II as the [[patron saint]] of Togo.

== [[Apostolic Nunciature to Togo]] == The apostolic delegation of Togo and Guinea was established on 21 May 1973 with the brief ''Qui benignissima'' of [[Pope Paul VI]]; it was based in the city of [[Abidjan]] in the [[Ivory Coast]]. In 1982, with the establishment of diplomatic relations between the [[Holy See]] and the Togo, the apostolic nunciature of Togo was created. The seat of the nuncio is the city of [[Cotonou]] in [[Benin]].

=== Apostolic Delegates ===

* [[Bruno Wüstenberg]], Titular Archbishop of Tire (19 Dec 1973 Appointed - 17 Jan 1979 Appointed, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the Netherlands) * [[Giuseppe Ferraioli]], Titular Archbishop of Volturno (25 Aug 1979 Appointed - 21 Jul 1981 Appointed, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Kenya)

=== Apostolic pro-nuncios ===

* [[Ivan Dias]], Titular Archbishop of Rusubisir (8 May 1982 Appointed - 20 Jun 1987 Appointed, Apostolic Nuncio to Korea) * [[Giuseppe Bertello]], Titular Archbishop of Urbisaglia (17 October 1987 Appointed - 12 January 1991 Appointed, Apostolic Nuncio to Rwanda) * [[Abraham Kattumana]], Titular Archbishop of Cebarades (8 May 1991 – 16 December 1992 Appointed Pontifical Delegate for the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]] and President of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church)

=== Apostolic nuncios ===

* [[André Dupuy|André Pierre Louis Dupuy]], Titular Archbishop of Selsey (6 Apr 1993 Appointed - 27 Mar 2000 Appointed, Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela) * [[George Kocherry]], Titular Archbishop of Othona (June 10 2000 - 2002 Resigned) * [[Pierre Nguyên Van Tot|Pierre Nguyễn Văn Tốt]], Titular Archbishop of Rusticiana (25 Nov 2002 Appointed - 24 Aug 2005 Appointed, Apostolic Nuncio to the Central African Republic) * [[Michael A. Blume|Michael August Blume]], SVD Titular Archbishop of Alessano (24 Aug 2005 Appointed - 2 Feb 2013 Appointed, Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda) * [[Brian Udaigwe]], Titular Archbishop of Suelli (16 Jul 2013 Appointed - 13 Jun 2020 Appointed, Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka) * [[Mark Miles|Mark Gerard Miles]], from March 2, 2021

== Episcopal Conference of Togo == The local episcopate constitutes the [[Episcopal Conference of Togo]] (''Conférence Episcopale du Togo'', CET).

CET is a member of the ''Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa'' (RECOWA) and of the ''Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar'' (SECAM).

List of presidents:

* [[Robert-Casimir Dosseh-Anyron|Robert-Casimir Tonyui Messan Dosseh-Anyron]], Archbishop of Lomé (1970 - 1992) * [[Philippe Fanoko Kpodzro|Philippe Fanoko Kossi Kpodzro]], Archbishop of Lomé (1992 - 2006) * [[Ambroise Kotamba Djoliba]], Bishop of Sokodé (2006 - November 2012) * [[Benoît Comlan Messan Alowonou]], bishop of Kpalimé, since November 2012

List of Vice Presidents:

* [[Denis Komivi Amuzu-Dzakpah]], Archbishop, then Archbishop Emeritus of Lomé, since November 2012

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Catholic Church in Togo}} {{Africa in topic|Catholic Church in|groupstyle=background-color:gold|titlestyle=background-color:gold}}

[[Category:Catholic Church in Togo| ]] [[Category:Catholic Church by country|Togo]] [[Category:Catholic Church in Africa|Togo]]