Catholic Church in South Sudan

The Catholic Church in South Sudan is composed of one ecclesiastical province with one archdiocese and six suffragan dioceses.^[1] There have been a total of 31 bishops in South Sudan to date.^[2] The bishops of South Sudan and Sudan are currently members of one single bishops' conference, designated as Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference.^[3]

It is the largest church in South Sudan.^[4] According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, the Catholic Church was the largest single Christian body in Sudan since 1995, with 2.7 million Catholics mainly concentrated in South Sudan.^[5] Later estimates suggested that 37.2% of the population is Catholic, with about 6.2 million Catholics out of a total population of 16.7 million.^[6] Figures in 2020 noted that Catholics had become more than half of the country's population.^[7]

The patron saint is Josephine Bakhita.^[8] Bakhita was born in Darfur in 1869 and kidnapped at the age of 6 by slavers. She was sold three times and beaten regularly. She was ransomed by Callisto Legnani, an Italian consul, converted to Christianity in a Venetian school and became a nun. She was canonized in October 2000 after being beatified in 1992. Her name became well known in southern Sudan during the Second Sudanese Civil War because of Christianity’s repression by the Sudanese government and that government’s use of slavery. Bakhita’s influence is recognized through a Catholic radio station based in Juba named Radio Bakhita.^[9]

The current President Salva Kiir Mayardit is Catholic.^[10]

^ Sawe, Benjamin Elisha, "Religious Beliefs in South Sudan", WorldAtlas (accessed November 8, 2019).
^ Cheney, David M., "South Sudan All Bishops", "Catholic Hierarchy" (accessed November 8, 2019).
^ GCatholic website, "Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference (S.C.B.C.) Conference of Bishops" (accessed November 8, 2019).
^ Sawe, "Religious Beliefs".
^ World Christian Encyclopedia, eds. David Barrett, Geo. Kurian, Todd Johnson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp 699, 700
^ Sawe, "Religious Beliefs".
^ Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
^ GCatholic website, "Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference (S.C.B.C.) Conference of Bishops" (accessed November 8, 2019).
^ 85. Tounsel, Christopher Gallien, 'God will crown us': The Construction of Religious Nationalism in Southern Sudan, 1898-2011 PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2015
^ Horowitz, Jason,"Pope Francis, in Plea for South Sudan Peace, Stuns Leaders by Kissing Their Shoes", "New York Times" (April 11, 2019).

[1] Sawe, Benjamin Elisha, "Religious Beliefs in South Sudan", WorldAtlas (accessed November 8, 2019).

[2] Cheney, David M., "South Sudan All Bishops", "Catholic Hierarchy" (accessed November 8, 2019).

[3] GCatholic website, "Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference (S.C.B.C.) Conference of Bishops" (accessed November 8, 2019).

[4] Sawe, "Religious Beliefs".

[5] World Christian Encyclopedia, eds. David Barrett, Geo. Kurian, Todd Johnson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp 699, 700

[6] Sawe, "Religious Beliefs".

[7] Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08

[8] GCatholic website, "Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference (S.C.B.C.) Conference of Bishops" (accessed November 8, 2019).

[9] 85. Tounsel, Christopher Gallien, 'God will crown us': The Construction of Religious Nationalism in Southern Sudan, 1898-2011 PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2015

[10] Horowitz, Jason,"Pope Francis, in Plea for South Sudan Peace, Stuns Leaders by Kissing Their Shoes", "New York Times" (April 11, 2019).

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