Roman Catholic Diocese of Laghouat

Diocese of Laghouat Dioecesis Laghuatensis

Map of the Diocese of Laghouat (Shown in yellow encompassing all of the Sahara)
Location
Country	Algeria
Ecclesiastical province	Immediately exempt to the Holy See
Metropolitan	Laghouat
Statistics
Area	2,107,708 km² (813,791 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 4,324,000 1,200 (0.0%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	July 19, 1901 (1901-07-19)
Cathedral	Ghardaïa Cathedral (a pro-cathedral)
Secular priests	11
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	John MacWilliam, M. Afr.
Bishops emeritus	Claude Rault, M. Afr.
Website
Diocesan Website

The Diocese of Laghouat (Latin: Dioecesis Laghuatensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church covering the sparsely populated Saharan inland of Algeria.

It is immediately exempt to the Holy See and not part of any ecclesiastical province, and depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The bishops cathedra is found in the Pro-Cathedral of Ghardaïa in the episcopal see of Ghardaïa. The former cathedral is the now-deconsecrated church of Saint Hilarion, in the city of Laghouat.

History

The diocese was established on 19 July 1901 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa (Latin: Ghardaiensis) on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Sahara and Sudan (now the Archdiocese of Bamako in present Mali), also a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction. It was renamed on 10 January 1921 to the Apostolic Prefecture of Ghardaïa in the Sahara (Italian: Ghardaïa nel Sahara, Latin: Ghardaiensis in Sahara.)

On 28 April 1942, it lost western territory to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Niamey (now the Archdiocese of Niamey.)

The prefecture was promoted on 10 June 1948 to an apostolic vicariate, entitled to a titular bishop.

On 5 July 1954, it lost western territory again to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni (now named the Apostolic Prefecture of Western Sahara)

The vicariate was promoted on 14 September 1955 to the Diocese of Laghouat.

Statistics

As of 2019^[update], it pastorally served 2,080 Catholics (0.0% of 4,902,760 total) on 2,107,708 km² in 10 parishes with 14 priests (3 diocesan, 11 religious) and 46 lay religious (20 brothers, 26 sisters) .

Ordinaries

Apostolic Prefects of Ghardaïa

Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (apostolic administrator 13 March 1891 – 25 November 1892)
Charles Guérin (1901–1910)
Henry Bardou (1911–1916)
Louis David (1916–1919)
Gustave-Jean-Marie Nouet, MAfr (28 April 1919 – 10 January 1921); see below

Apostolic Prefects of Ghardaïa nel Sahara

Gustave-Jean-Marie Nouet, MAfr (10 January 1921 – 1941); see above
Georges-Louis Mercier, MAfr (1941 – 10 June 1948); see below

Apostolic Vicar of Ghardaïa nel Sahara

Georges-Louis Mercier, MAfr (10 June 1948 – 14 September 1955); see above & below

Bishops of Laghouat

Georges-Louis Mercier, MAfr (14 September 1955 – 11 January 1968); see above
Jean-Marie Michel Arthur Alix Zacharie Raimbaud, MAfr (11 January 1968 – 25 June 1989)
Michel-Joseph-Gérard Gagnon, MAfr (4 February 199 – 11 June 2004)
- Michel Larbubu, MAfr (apostolic administrator 29 April 2004 – 26 October 2004)
Claude Jean Narcisse Rault, MAfr (26 October 2004 – 16 March 2017)
John MacWilliam, MAfr (16 March 2017 – )