Roman Catholic Diocese of Laghouat

Diocese of Laghouat Dioecesis Laghuatensis
Map of the Diocese of Laghouat (Shown in yellow encompassing all of southern Algeria)
Location
Country	Algeria
Ecclesiastical province	Immediately subject to the Holy See
Metropolitan	Laghouat
Statistics
Area	2,107,708 km2 (813,791 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 4,324,000 1,200 (0.0%)
Information
Rite	Roman
Established	July 19, 1901 (1901-07-19)
Cathedral	Ghardaïa Cathedral (a pro-cathedral)
Secular priests	11
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	John MacWilliam, M. Afr.
Bishops emeritus	Claude Jean Narcisse Rault, M. Afr.
Website
[1]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Laghouat (Latin: Dioecesis Laghuatensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese, covering the sparsely populated Saharan inland of Algeria.

It is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See (not part of any ecclesiastical province), and depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The bishops' seat is the pro-cathedral in Ghardaïa. The former cathedral is the now-deconsecrated church of Saint Hilarion, in the city of Laghouat.

History

• Established on July 19, 1901 as Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Sahara and Sudan (now the Archdiocese of Bamako in present Mali), also a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction.
• Renamed on January 10, 1921 as Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa in the Sahara (or in Italian Ghardaïa nel Sahara)
• Promoted on June 10, 1948 as Apostolic Vicariate of Ghardaïa in the Sahara, hence entitled to a titular bishop
• On July 5, 1954, it lost western territory to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni (now of Western Sahara)
• Promoted on September 14, 1955 as Diocese of Laghouat.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,200 Catholics (0.0% of 4,416,000 total) on 2,107,708 km² in 10 parishes with 15 priests (3 diocesan, 12 religious), 46 lay religious (17 brothers, 29 sisters) .

Ordinaries

Apostolic Prefects of Ghardaïa

• Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (apostolic administrator 13 March 1891 – 25 November 1892)
• Charles Guérin (1901–1910)
• Henry Bardou (1911–1916)
• Louis David (1916–1919)
• Gustave-Jean-Marie Nouet, MAfr (28 April 1919 – 10 January 1921); see below

Apostolic Prefects of Ghardaïa nel Sahara

• Gustave-Jean-Marie Nouet, MAfr (10 January 1921 – 1941); see above
• Georges-Louis Mercier, MAfr (1941 – 10 June 1948); see below

Apostolic Vicar of Ghardaïa nel Sahara

• Georges-Louis Mercier, MAfr (10 June 1948 – 14 September 1955); see above & below

Bishops of Laghouat

1. Georges-Louis Mercier, MAfr (14 September 1955 – 11 January 1968); see above
2. Jean-Marie Michel Arthur Alix Zacharie Raimbaud, MAfr (11 January 1968 – 25 June 1989)
3. Michel-Joseph-Gérard Gagnon, MAfr (4 February 199 – 11 June 2004)
   • Michel Larbubu, MAfr (apostolic administrator 29 April 2004 – 26 October 2004)
4. Claude Jean Narcisse Rault, MAfr (26 October 2004 – 16 March 2017)
5. John MacWilliam, MAfr (16 March 2017 – )

See also

• List of Catholic dioceses in Algeria
• Roman Catholicism in Algeria

Sources and external links

• GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links - data for all sections
• Catholic Hierarchy
• Diocese of Laghouat Website (French)