Catholic Church in Malawi

The Catholic Church in Malawi is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome and the Malawi bishops.

History

The first Catholic missionaries were White Fathers (Pères Blancs in French) who arrived in Malawi in 1889. By 1904, the White Fathers had three permanent mission stations at Kachebere, Likuni, and Mua, and the Montforts had two missions, at Nguludi and Nzama. Most of the White Fathers were French and, among the early leaders, were Bishops Louis Auneau, Joseph Dupont, and Mathurin Guillemé. It was not until 1937-38 that the first Malawi priests were ordained: Cornelio Chitsulo, Alfred Finye.^[1]

21st century

In 2023, Malawi is a Christian country, with 79% of the population having a Christian background; one third of people in the country are Catholic.^[2]

There are 2 archdioceses and 6 dioceses:

• Archdiocese of Blantyre
  • Diocese of Chikwawa
  • Diocese of Mangochi
  • Diocese of Zomba
• Archdiocese of Lilongwe
  • Diocese of Dedza
  • Diocese of Karonga
  • Diocese of Mzuzu

In 2020 there were 645 priests and over 1,000 nuns serving 207 parishes.^[3]

See also

• Christianity in Malawi
• List of Catholic dioceses in Malawi
• List of Christian denominations in Malawi