Catholic Church in Morocco

The Catholic Church in Morocco is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

Contents

• Cathedrals and churches
• Archdiocese of Rabat
• Chronology of Catholic Dioceses
• References

There are around 20,000 Catholics in Morocco, most of them are European expatriates, with a big majority of French and Spanish from colonization and post-independence, the second group is composed of Sub-Saharan immigrants, mainly students. Aside from Arabic, all of the Europeans can speak Spanish and French, which are also spoken by Catholic Arabs, Berbers, and Moors, and these languages are used in the celebration of Mass, in prayer meetings, and in education. There are very few converts from Islam, the dominant religion and when they exist, they keep their faith secret. Conversions of Muslims to Roman Catholicism (either proselytization or apostasy, and often through marriage) were often in colonial period because laws against such conversions didn't exist yet, although such converts have tended to move to France or Spain to escape onerous social pressure from the overwhelmingly Muslim Moroccan population. Catholics account for only about two-thirds of one tenth of a percent of the overall population of over 31 million. The country is divided into two archdioceses; Rabat and Tangier.