Catholic Church in South Africa 🇿🇦

By Type (27)

Metropolitan Sees (Archdioceses) Metr. Archdiocese (5)

By Rite

Roman Rite (27): Aliwal, Bethlehem, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, De Aar, Dundee, Durban, Eshowe, Ingwavuma, Johannesburg, Keimoes–Upington, Kimberley, Klerksdorp, Kokstad, Kroonstad, Mariannhill, Mthatha, Oudtshoorn, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Queenstown, Rustenburg, South African Defence Force, Tzaneen, Umzimkulu, Witbank

by Type | by Name | by Ecclesiastical Province
Changes in Dioceses | Vacant Dioceses | Former Dioceses

Apostolic Nunciature: South Africa

Conference of Bishops: Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (S.A.C.B.C.)

International Meeting of Bishops’ Conferences: Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (I.M.B.I.S.A.)

International Meeting of Bishops’ Conferences: Symposium des Conférences Episcopales d’Afrique et de Madagascar (S.C.E.A.M.)

Cardinals (1 elector/2 total)

Stephen Brislin (69)

Wilfrid Fox Napier, O.F.M. (85)

All Cardinals

Bishops

Celebrations

Patron Saint: Our Lady of Assumption

Saints: 1 Blessed

Liturgical Calendar 📅

Papal Visits

1995.09.16 – 1995.09.18: Apostolic Journey to South Africa

Geography

Continent: Southern Africa

Capital: Pretoria

Area: 1,214,470 km²

Population: 54,841,552

Neighbouring Countries: ↙ Bouvet Island , ↖ Namibia , ↑ Botswana , ↗ Zimbabwe , ↗ Mozambique , → Eswatini , ↘ Heard Island and McDonald Islands , ☉ Lesotho

Cultural Summary

Religions: Protestant 36.6% (Zionist Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%), Catholic 7.1%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1%

Languages: isiZulu (official) 22.7%, isiXhosa (official) 16%, Afrikaans (official) 13.5%, English (official) 9.6%, Sepedi (official) 9.1%, Setswana (official) 8%, Sesotho (official) 7.6%, Xitsonga (official) 4.5%, siSwati (official) 2.5%, Tshivenda (official) 2.4%, isiNdebele (official) 2.1%, sign language 0.5%, other 1.6%

Ethnic Groups: black African 80.2%, white 8.4%, colored 8.8%, Indian/Asian 2.5%

Motto: (Unity in Diversity)

Statistics (2023.12.31)

Area: 1,221,037 km²

Catholic Population: 3,982,000 Catholics (6.5% of 61,293,000 total)

Pastoral Centres: 887 parishes, 1,554 mission stations (79 with resident priest, 1,475 without resident priest), 113 other centres

Clergy: 41 bishops (24 diocesan, 17 titular), 1,194 priests (630 diocesan, 564 religious), 279 permanent deacons (278 diocesan, 1 religious)

Non-Clergy: 1,845 religious (116 brothers, 1,729 sisters), 84 members of secular institutes (6 brothers, 78 sisters), 453 major seminarians, 383 missionaries, 11,578 catechists

Consecrated Persons (Not Ordained)

Seminarians

Lay Missionaries

Catechists