Catholicism in Libya

Christianity appeared on the territory of today's Libya in the I century. The capital of the Roman province of Cyrenaica was the famous cultural and economic center of the region, the city of Cyrene, in which Christians began to settle in the first century. In the formation of Christianity in Cyrenaica, the diocese of Cyrena played a significant role, the first bishop of which was Saint Lucius, who, according to Christian Tradition, was ordained by the holy Apostle Mark. During the persecutions of Christians under the emperor Diocletian in Cyrene, the bishop Theodore, the deacon Irineus, the reader Lecturer and the virgin Cyril died a martyr's death. In the 5th century, the Neo-Platonic theologian, Syesius, lived in Cyrene. At the beginning of the 5th century, Cyrenaica was conquered by the Vandals who professed Arianism .

In the VII century Cyrenaica passed into the hands of Muslims; Islam became the state religion and the number of Christians began to decline. In 1913, when Libya became a colony of Italy, a small Christian population lived here, mostly of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church .

The missionary activity of the Catholic Church in Libya began in the middle of the 17th century, when missionaries from the monastic order of the Franciscans , who were engaged in buying out Christian slaves, arrived in Cyrenaica. In 1630, the Holy See established the first Catholic structure of the Apostolic Prefecture of Tripoli (today the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli ), which in 1894 was transformed into the Apostolic Vicariate . The jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli included the entire territory of today's Libya.

At the beginning of the 20th century, several thousand Italians lived in Libya. In 1913, after the Italian-Turkish war, the Italian colonization of Libya began. In 1927, the apostolic vicariate of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were formed. In 1938, about 28 thousand Italians were resettled in Libya, who founded here 38 new settlements on the coast of Cyrenaica. In 1939, Benito Mussolini announced plans to create Great Italy , which included the northern part of modern Libya and Tunisia. From that time on, the extensive construction of the Italian colonist settlements began on the coast of Kyreniaki. For the colonists in Libya built numerous Catholic churches. At this time, cathedrals were built in Tripoli and Benghazi . In 1939, the Holy See established in Libya a new apostolic vicariate of Turf and the apostolic prefecture of Misrata. Before the start of World War II , about 120 thousand Italians lived in Libya. After the war, the number of Catholics living in Libya began to decline.

After the 1969 revolution, most of the Catholic churches in Libya were closed. The cathedrals in Tripoli and Benghazi were refitted nationalized or used for other purposes. Currently, Catholic clergy engaged in pastoral activities mainly on the coast of the country. Believers are few Italivians , African immigrants and industrial workers from various countries.

Since 1965, the Apostolic Delegation has been active in Libya, which also included Algeria . In 1997, diplomatic relations were established between the Vatican and Libya. On May 10, 1997, Pope John Paul II issued an ad firmiores reddendas brive , who appointed the apostolic nuncio in Libya. Since 1995, the residence of the nuncio is located in Malta .

Apostolic delegates:

• John Gordon (1965-1967) - Titular Archbishop of Nikopol Mesta ;
• Sante Portalupi (1967-1979) - titular archbishop of Kristopol ;
• Gabriel Montalvo Higuera (1980-1986) - Titular Bishop of Celeni ;
• Giovanni de Andrea (1986–1989) - titular archbishop of Aquaviva ;
• Edmond I. Farhat (1989-1995) - titular Archbishop of Byblos ;
• José Sebastian Laboa Gallego (1995-1997) - titular Archbishop of Zara .

Apostolic Nuncio:

• José Sebastian Laboa Gallego (1997-1998);
• Luigi Gatti (1998–2001) - Titular Archbishop of Santa Just ;
• Luigi Conti (2001–2003) - Titular Archbishop of Gratian ;
• Felix del Blanco Prieto (2003–2007) - Titular Archbishop of Vannida ;
• Tommaso Caputo (2007 - present) titular Archbishop Otricoli .

There are four Catholic church structures in Libya:

• Misrata Apostolic Prefecture ;
• Apostolic Vicariate of Benghazi ;
• Apostolic Vicariate of Sod ;
• Apostolic Vicariate Tripoli .

The Catholic Church of Libya is part of the Central Episcopal Conference of North Africa (Conférence Episcopale Regionale du Nord de l'Afrique, CERNA), which unites the Catholic communities of Libya, Algeria, Tunisia , Morocco and Western Sahara .

• The Catholic Encyclopedia, V. 2, M., 2005, ed. Franciscans, pp. 1654-1655, ISBN 5-89208-054-4

• The official website of the Catholic Church in Libya (Fr.)
• Information (English)
• Information (English)