Catholic Church in Turkey

The Catholic Church in Turkey is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the canonical leadership of the curia in Rome that is submitted to the Pope.

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Holy Spirit Cathedral, Istanbul

Turkey is notable for being the only country with territory in Europe, other than Estonia, to have never had a Catholic bishop from its own dominant ethnic group in recent centuries.

Demographics

In the 2000s, there are around 35,000 Catholics, constituting 0.05% of the population. The faithful follow the Latin, Byzantine, Armenian and Chaldean Rite. Most Latin Rite Catholics are Levantines of mainly Italian or French background, with a few are ethnic Turks, who are usually either converts via marriage to Levantines or other non-Turkish Catholics, or are returnees from Europe who converted there, and who may often be still registered as Muslim by the government. Byzantine, Armenian, and Chaldean rite Catholics are generally members of the Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian minority groups respectively. Turkey's Catholics are concentrated in Istanbul.

Persecutions by Muslims

The Catholic Christian community was shocked when Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary working in Turkey for 10 years, was shot twice in February 2006 at his church near the Black Sea. He had written a letter to the Pope asking him to visit Turkey. Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in November 2006. Relations had been rocky since Pope Benedict XVI had stated his opposition to Turkey joining the European Union. Turkey's Council of Catholic Bishops met with the Turkish prime minister in 2004 to discuss restrictions and difficulties such as property issues. On June 6, 2010, Bishop Luigi Padovese, the Vicar Apostolic of Turkey, was killed.

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Cathedral of St. Anthony of Padua, Mersin

Organization

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Latin rite dioceses in Turkey

• Latin Rite:
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Izmir
    • seat in Izmir
    • Cathedral: St. John's Cathedral, Izmir
    • Jurisdiction: archdiocese without suffragan dioceses
  • Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia
    • seat in Iskenderun
    • Cathedral: Cathedral of the Annunciation, Iskenderun
    • Co-Cathedral: St. Anthony of Padua Co-Cathedral, Mersin
    • Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the Holy See
  • Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul
    • seat in Istanbul
    • Cathedral: Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul, Basilica minor
    • Basilica minor: St. Anthony of Padua Basilica, Istanbul, Istanbul
    • Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the Holy See
• Armenian rite:
  • Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Istanbul
    • seat in Istanbul
    • Cathedral: Holy Mother of God Armenian Cathedral Church, Istanbul
    • Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the Holy See
• Byzantine Rite:
  • Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul
    • seat in Istanbul
    • Cathedral: Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral, Istanbul (Ayatriada Rum Katoliki Kilise)
    • Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the Holy See
• West Syriac Rite:
  • Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Turkey
    • seat in Istanbul
    • Cathedral:
    • Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the Syriac Catholic Church
• Chaldean Catholic rite:
  • Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Diarbekir
    • seat in Beyoğlu, Istanbul
    • Cathedral: St. Mary's Cathedral, Diyarbakır
    • Jurisdiction: Immediately Subject to the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Babylon

See also

• Episcopal Conference of Turkey
• Christianity in Turkey
• List of Saints from Asia
• Religious minorities in Turkey

External links

• The Catholic Church in Turkey by GCatholic.org