Roman Catholic Diocese of Djibouti

Catholic diocese in Djibouti

Diocese of Djibouti

Dioecesis Gibutensis

Our Lady of the Good Shepherd Cathedral

Location
Country| Djibouti
Metropolitan| Immediately subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Area| 23,000 km2 (8,900 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics| (as of 2006)
747,000
5,000 (0.9%)
Information
Denomination| Roman Catholic
Rite| Latin Rite
Cathedral| Our Lady of the Good Shepherd Cathedral, Djibouti
Current leadership
Pope| Francis
Bishop| Jamal Khader Daibes
Bishops emeritus| Giorgio Bertin, OFM

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Djibouti (Latin: Gibuten(sis)) is the Latin sole diocese in the country of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Its cathedral, Our Lady of the Good Shepherd Cathedral (French: Marian Cathédrale de Notre-Dame du Bon-Pasteur) is located in the national capital, Djibouti City.

## Statistics[edit]

As per 2014, it pastorally served 5,000 Catholics (0.6% of 850,000 total) on 23,200 km2 in 5 parishes and a mission with 4 diocesan priests and 29 lay religious (1 brother, 28 sisters).

## History[edit]

* Established on 28 April 1914, as Apostolic Prefecture of Djibouti, on the colonial territory of French Somaliland, canonically split off from the vast Apostolic Vicariate of Galla (based in Ethiopia, from which also sprang the Apostolic Prefecture of Benadir, for British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland, which became the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio covering all modern Somalia)
* Promoted on 14 September 1955, as Diocese of Djibouti.

## Ordinaries[edit]

(all Roman rite and so far members of missionary Latin congregations)

Apostolic Prefects of Djibouti

* Friar Pasquale da Luchon, OFMCap (1914 – death 1923)
* Fr. Marcelliano da La Guerche, OFMCap (22 October 1937 – death 1945)
* Fr. Henri-Bernardin Hoffmann, OFMCap (28 September 1945 – 14 September 1955 see below)

Exempt Bishops of Djibouti

* Henri-Bernardin Hoffmann, OFMCap (see above 14 September 1955 – death 21 March 1979)
* Michel-Joseph-Gérard Gagnon, MAfr (28 March 1980 – retired 3 July 1987); later Bishop of Laghouat (Algeria, another former French colony) (4 February 1991 – death 1 June 2004)
* Georges Perron, OFMCap (21 November 1992 – retired 13 March 2001), previously Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Harar (Ethiopia) (1982 – resigned 21 November 1992)
* Giorgio Bertin, OFM (13 March 2001 – 13 January 2024), also Apostolic Administrator of Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio (Somalia) (1990– 13 January 2024)
* Jamal Khader Daibes (13 January 2024 - Present), also Apostolic Administrator of Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio (Somalia) (13 January 2024 - present)

## See also[edit]

* Roman Catholicism in Djibouti

## Sources and external links[edit]

* GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo
* Catholic Hierarchy

11°36′01″N 43°09′04″E﻿ / ﻿11.6003°N 43.1511°E﻿ / 11.6003; 43.1511