{{Short description|None}} {{Catholic Church by country}} [[Image:Church of Massah.jpg|thumb|right|Catholic Church of [[Massah, Libya|Massah]] in 1940]] [[Image:LA CATTEDRALE DI TRIPOLI 1960.jpg|thumb|The Cathedral of Tripoli in the 1960s.]] [[Image:La Cattedrale di Bengasi.jpg|thumb|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]] (particularly the [[Latin Church]]), under the spiritual leadership of the [[Pope]] in [[Rome]].
==Characteristics== Among the Catholics are [[Italian Libyans]] and [[Malta|Maltese]] 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]].
There are no dioceses in Libya, but there are four territorial jurisdictions - three [[Apostolic Administration]]s and one [[Apostolic Prefecture]].
*[[Apostolic Vicariate of Benghazi]] *[[Apostolic Vicariate of Derna]] *[[Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli]] *[[Apostolic Prefecture of Misrata]]
==History==
Christianity has been present in Libya since [[Roman Libya|Roman times]]. Saint [[Francis of Assisi]] brought his faith to [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] in the [[Middle Ages]].
The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in the Old City - Medina of [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] was founded in 1645 and, with the permission of the Sultan of [[Constantinople]], the Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Benghazi in 1858.
Before [[World War II]] the number of Catholics increased in Libya due to its status as an [[Italian Libya|Italian colony]], but the Catholic [[Tripoli Cathedral|Cathedral of Tripoli]] (built in the 1920s) was converted to a [[mosque]] in the 1990s by [[Muammar Gaddafi]]'s regime.<ref>[http://www.paolocason.it/Libia/Pagine/Luoghi%20di%20Culto.html Photos of Libyan catholic churches (in Italian)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109024355/http://www.paolocason.it/Libia/Pagine/Luoghi%20di%20Culto.html |date=2011-01-09 }}</ref> The other Catholic cathedral in Libya, the [[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 settlers in Libya|Italian]] and Maltese ancestry.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Jason |last1=Morgan|first2=Toyin |last2=Falola|first3=Bukola Adeyemi |last3=Oyeniyi|title=Culture and Customs of Libya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R65iYMCuK6gC|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37860-7|page=40}}</ref> In 2017 there were only 300 Catholics in Libya.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/02/17/vescovo-di-tripoli-padre-martinelli_n_6696068.html Martinelli refuses to leave his last 300 Catholics (in Italian)]</ref> In 2023, it is believed that there are less than 20,500 Catholics in the country.<ref>[https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=132c#IRFDEMOG The Association of Religion Archive website, Retrieved 2023-07-05]</ref>
There are two Catholic churches in Libya, the Church of San Francesco in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] (led until 2017 by [[Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli]]) and the Maria Immacolata Parish Church in [[Benghazi]], both of which are led by [[Franciscan]] priests from the Province of St. Paul the Apostle ([[Malta]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=The Catholic Church in Libya|url=http://ofm.org.mt/churchinlibya/|website=Franciscan Province of St. Paul the Apostle (Malta)|publisher=Order of Friars Minor - St. Paul the Apostle Province}}</ref> Each church is made up of "personal parishes" based on language, with each personal parish assigned its own priest.
==See also== *[[Religion in Libya]] *[[Christianity in Libya]] *[[Protestantism in Libya]] *[[Copts in Libya]] *[[Italian Libyans]]
==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://ofm.org.mt/churchinlibya/ Official website of the Catholic Church in Libya]
{{Demographics of Libya}} {{Africa topic|Catholic Church in|groupstyle=background-color:gold|titlestyle=background-color:gold}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church in Libya}} [[Category:Catholic Church in Libya| ]] [[Category:Catholic Church by country|Libya]] [[Category:Catholic Church in Africa|Libya]]