Catholic Church in Zimbabwe

{{short description|Part of worldwide Catholic Church, led by Pope Leo XIV}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox Christian denomination | icon = Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.svg | icon_width = 25px | icon_alt = | name = Catholic Church<br>in Zimbabwe | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = File:Diocesi dello Zimbabwe.png | imagewidth = | alt = | caption = Zimbabwean Diocese' boundaries. Harare and Bulawayo are metropolitan Archdiocese | abbreviation = | type = [[National polity]] | main_classification = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] | orientation = [[Latin Church|Latin]] | scripture = [[Catholic bible|Bible]] | theology = [[Catholic theology]] | polity = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]] | governance = [[Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference]] | structure = | leader_title = [[Pope]] | leader_name = {{incumbent pope}} | leader_title1 = [[Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference|ZCBC President]] | leader_name1 = [[Raymond Mupandasekwa]] | leader_title2 = [[Apostolic Nunciature to Zimbabwe|Apostolic Nuncio]] | leader_name2 = [[Paolo Rudelli]] | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | fellowships_type = | fellowships = | fellowships_type1 = | fellowships1 = | division_type = | division = | division_type1 = | division1 = | division_type2 = | division2 = | division_type3 = | division3 = | associations = | area = [[Zimbabwe]] | language = [[English Language|English]], [[Shona Language|Shona]], [[Northern Ndebele language|Ndebele]] | liturgy = | headquarters = | origin_link = | founder = [[Jesuits]] | founded_date = 1887 | founded_places = | separated_from = | branched_from = | merger = | absorbed = | separations = | merged_into = | defunct = | congregations_type = | congregations = | members =  975,488 (2022 census) | ministers_type = | ministers = | missionaries = | churches = | hospitals = | nursing_homes = | aid = | primary_schools = | secondary_schools = | tax_status = | tertiary = | other_names = | publications = | website = http://www.zcbc.co.zw/ | slogan = | logo = | module = | footnotes = }}

{{Catholic Church by country}} The '''Catholic Church in Zimbabwe''' is part of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]], under the spiritual leadership of the [[Pope of Rome]], [[Pope Leo XIV]].

According to the 2017 Inter Censal Demography Survey by the [[Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency]] 8.0% of the population of [[Zimbabwe]] were [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]; overall, 84% of the country had a Christian background.<ref name=2017survey>[https://zimbabwe.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Inter%20Censal%20Demography%20Survey%202017%20Report.pdf Inter Censal Demography Survey 2017 Report], Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (2017)</ref>

There were 1,145,000 Catholics in the country (about 9% of the total population) in 2005.<ref>[http://www.earthhealing.info/catholicstats.pdf Earth Healing website, statistics], Albert J. Fritsch, SJ, PhD., 2005</ref> According to the 2022 Zimbabwe Population and Housing census, there are an estimated 975.488 Catholics in Zimbabwe, representing 6.4% from Zimbabwe's population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://zimstat.co.zw/ |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=ZIMSTAT |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2020, Catholic numbers were up to 2 million people, with 600 priests and 1,000 nuns serving across 267 parishes.<ref>[https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/zimbabwe Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08]</ref>

[[Pius Ncube]], the former archbishop of [[Bulawayo]], was an outspoken critic of the then government of [[Robert Mugabe]], who was also a Catholic.

==Dioceses==

==See also==

* [[Religion in Zimbabwe]] * [[Christianity in Zimbabwe]] * [[Archdiocese of Bulawayo]] * [[List of parishes in the Archdiocese of Harare]] * [[List of Catholic dioceses in Zimbabwe]] * [[Archbishop Marek Zalewski]]

==External links==

*[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/zw.html Catholic Hierarchy website, Statistics relating to the Catholic church in Zimbabwe] *[http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/country/ZW.html GCatholic]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} *[http://www.zcbc.co.zw/ Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference]

==References==

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

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