List of saints from Africa

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from List of Saints from Africa)
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

This page is a list of saints, blesseds, venerables, and Servants of God from Africa, as recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. These people were born, died, or lived their religious life in any of the states or territories of Africa.

The history of Catholicism in Africa can be dated to Apostolic times, with the Ethiopian eunuch, or even before, with Christ's flight into Egypt. Undoubtedly, it dates from the first century, as the Patriarchate of Alexandria dates from then. In the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries it is the fastest-growing field for Catholicism.

Before the Arab Conquest

In the first centuries of the Church, Africa produced many of her leading lights. The Catholic presence in Africa was weakened by the schism following the Council of Chalcedon which resulted in the separation between the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Church, and even more so by the rise of Islam. Following the Arab conquest of northern Africa, the Catholic Church was largely absent from the continent before modern times, although the Coptic, and later Ethiopic, Orthodox Churches remained. The following are some of the notable saints from the first to seventh centuries, though it is a very incomplete list.

Popes

Three of the early popes were either from Africa themselves or children of African immigrants to Rome. All three were from this time period and are traditionally considered saints. They are:

Doctors

Three of the thirty-five Doctors of the Church were from Africa, all of them from this time period. They are:

Writers and theologians

Many of the early writers and theologians had connections with Africa. A partial list would include:

Others

In addition to the categories above, these first centuries gave the Church many other saints, among them:

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

Modern times

It would be difficult to say who the first saint to be associated with Africa after the Arab conquest would be. Saint Francis of Assisi famously went on a mission to Egypt in 1219. Saint Louis IX of France died in Tunisia en route from the Holy Land in 1270. But after the canonization of saints came to be reserved to the Papacy around AD 1000, and especially after the establishment of the Congregation of Rites in 1588, the list of official saints with African connections is more clear.

List of saints

The following is the list of saints, including the year in which they were canonized and the country or countries with which they are associated.

List of blesseds

List of venerables

List of Servants of God

  • Servants of God the Monks of Atlas, Trappists and martyrs (Algeria)
  • Servants of God the Martyrs of Kikwit, Sisters of the Poor and martyrs (Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • Servant of God Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga (Kenya)

Other open causes

Others have been proposed for beatification, and may have active groups supporting their causes. These include:

  • Anna Ali, religious with the Sisters of Mercy and reported mystic (Kenya)

See also

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.