Catholic Church in Monaco

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Pontifically crowned image of Notre Dame de Laghet (1625). Decreed by the Rosary Pope in 1898.

The Catholic Church in Monaco is part of the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome. It is the formal State religion of the country.

Monaco forms a single Archdiocese accorded by the Holy See as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monaco, which is part of the Catholic Church in France since the beginning of its history. The Constitution of Monaco (Article No. 9[1]) upholds Roman Catholicism as the official church of Monaco, and is the majority religion;[2] religious freedom is also guaranteed by the constitution. In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[3]

Relations between Monaco and the Papal States begin with the Papal bull of Pope Innocent IV in 6 December 1247 via the Papal bull Pro Puritate Devotionis, which confirms the possession at the Abbey of Saint-Pons in Nice of the chapel dedicated to Saint Martin, near the Château Neuf, on the Rock of Monaco. The same year, the Pope authorized the erection of another chapel reserved for the Genoese dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.

Antipope Benedict XIII was the first Pontiff to arrive in Monaco on 21 December 1404. He lived at the Prince's Palace of Monaco until 7 May 1405.

Pope Leo XIII issued a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation to the venerated Marian image of Notre Dame de Laghet via the former Archbishop of Bordeaux, Cardinal Victor-Lucien-Sulpice Lécot on 29 September 1898. The rite of coronation was executed the former Archbishop of Nice, Henri Louis Chapon on 19 April 1900.

Chapel interior of the Holy Penitents, Monaco.

The patron saint of the Monegasque peoples is Saint Devota. The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate is the cathedral of the Monaco archdiocese. Other Catholic churches include the Saint Charles Church, Church St. Devote, Saint Martin Church, and Saint Nicholas Church. Catholic chapels include the Chapel of Mercy, Chapel of the Sacred Heart, and the Carmelite Chapel. The former Chapel of Visitation is now an art museum.

In 2020, there were 32,000 Catholics in Monaco (83.16% of the population);[4] there were twenty four priests and eleven consecrated nuns serving across six parishes.

Other estimates put the Catholic population at 90%;[2] the remainder of the country is made up of Jews (3%), Protestants (2%) and Russian Orthodox (1%) with small numbers of Greek Orthodox, Muslims and others.

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