Catholic Church in Morocco

Catholic Church in Morocco
St. Peter's Cathedral, Rabat
Type	National polity
Classification	Catholic Church
Orientation	Latin Church
Pope	Francis
Apostolic Nuncio	Alfred Xuereb[1]
Region	Morocco
Members	ca. 25,000[2]
Primary schools	16[3]

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The Catholic Church in Morocco is part of the worldwide Catholic Church (particularly the Latin Church), under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Catholics account less than 1% of the overall population of over 31 million. The country is divided into two archdioceses; Rabat and Tangier.

Christianity, originally introduced in the region in the 2nd century AD, decreased after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century. During the 12th and 13th century Christians newcomers, coming as captives, mercenaries or merchants, revived Christianity with the aid of missions by the Franciscans and papal support.^[4] These missions, continuing into the 18th century, focused primarily on providing pastoral care to the local Christians though occasionally they also sought to proselytise Muslims. At times, Catholics were persecuted by the local government or local population.

When the Spanish and French divided Morocco into respective protectorates, the conditions of the Catholic Church flourished due to an influx of around 470,000 Catholics.^[3] Catholic churches, schools, and hospitals were built throughout the country, and until 1961, Sunday mass festivities were broadcast on radio and television networks. After the independence, the Catholic population decreased significantly as many Catholics left to France or Spain.^[5] Since then, the Catholic Church continues to provide pastoral care to remaining Catholics and engages in interreligious dialogue.