Catholic Church in Yemen

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

Church of St. Francis of Assisi on the harbour front of Aden in the 1960s

Christians as a group make up 0.06% of Yemen’s population. Most of these are Orthodox Christians.

In 2020, there were four hundred Catholics in the country, which included one priest and eight nuns.[1] There are also approximately 2,500 Catholics who are temporary foreign workers or refugees.[2][3]

The Catholic Church in Yemen forms part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia.[4]

Persecution

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Three nuns who were members of the Missionaries of Charity were killed in Hodeida 1998.[5] In the same year, Yemen and the Vatican established diplomatic relations.[4] On 4 March 2016, terrorists of uncertain affiliation attacked a Catholic home for the elderly in Aden, killing sixteen people including four missionary sisters of the Missionaries of Charity and some local Muslim workers.

It is reported that at Christians and other religious minorities are often discriminated against when attempting to access humanitarian aid.[6]

Churches

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There are four Catholic parishes in Yemen:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Catholics And Culture website, Retrieved 2023-07-05
  2. ^ The Association of Religion Data Archives website, Retrieved 2023-07-05
  3. ^ "Yemeni leader to meet with Pope". Catholic World News. 2004-11-24. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  4. ^ a b "Holy See sets relations with Yemen". Catholic World News. 1998-10-12. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  5. ^ "Yemen Plans Security For Missionaries". Catholic World News. 1998-07-28. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  6. ^ US State Dept 2022 report
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