[work in progress]
Relations between Ethiopian and Catholic Christians until the 1540s A.D.
Ethiopia was the second country after Armenia to adopt Christianity as its state religion. When Christianity split after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., the Ethiopian Church sided with the Patriarchate of Alexandria. Since the Crusades, however, there have been regular encounters between Catholic and Orthodox Christians in Europe and the Holy Land, as Ethiopians had been making pilgrimages to Jerusalem since early times.
Catholic missionaries to Ethiopia
During the 1540s, Portuguese soldiers helped Emperor Geladewos in the war against Imam Ahmad Gragn. The first Jesuit missionaries arrived at the Ethiopian court in 1557. During the reign of Emperor Susenyos I, Roman Catholicism became the official religion in Ethiopia. His son, Emperor Fasilides, expelled the Jesuits, had their books burnt and broke off diplomatic relations with Europe.
Two hundred years later, Catholic missionaries regained influence in Ethiopia. The Lazarist Giustino de Jacobis (1800‒60) worked in the north of the country. He established a Catholic Church of the Ethiopian Rite with practices similar to those of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the Oromo regions, however, the Capuchin Guglielmo Massaja (1809‒89) founded a Western Rite Catholic Church.
Jurisdictions
(1) Ethiopian Catholic Church (Ethiopic Rite)
Metropolitan Archeparchy of Addis Ababa
- Eparchy of Adigrat
- Eparchiy of Bahir Dar – Dessie
- Eparchy of Emdeber
(2) Latin Church (Roman Rite)
- Apostolic Vicariate of Awasa
- Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella
- Apostolic Vicariate of Harar
- Apostolic Vicariate of Hosanna
- Apostolic Vicariate of Jimma – Bonga
- Apostolic Vicariate of Meki
- Apostolic Vicariate of Nekemte
- Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo
- Apostolic Prefecture of Robe
Catholic Christians make up just under 1% of the total population of Ethiopia.
The numerical strongest dioceses are Awasa, Soddo and Hosanna.
Gospel music
Several Catholic centers in Southern Ethiopia were established in rural areas. These circumstances were conducive for the creation of vernacular gospel songs after Vatican II Council (until 1965).
Generally speaking, in Catholic congregations choirs are still preferred to solo singers.
Further reading
(1) Internet resources
GCatholic , Jurisdictions of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia
(2) Publications
Alberto, Antonios. A Modern and Contemporary History of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia (16th – 20th Centuries). (Ethiopian Review of Cultures 6). Addis Ababa: Capuchin Franciscan Institute of Philosophy and Theology, 2013.
Crummey, Donald. Priests & Politicians: Protestant & Catholic Missions in Orthodox Ethiopia (1830-1868). Reprint. Hollywood, CA: Tsehai Publishers, 2007. [1st edition Oxford: Clarendon Pr., 1972]
Mkenda, Festo (SJ). A Splash of Diamond: The Jesuit Presence in Ethiopia from 1945 to the Present. Rome and Nairobi: Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa, 2023.
O’Mahoney, Kevin. “The Ebullient Phoenix”: A History of the Vicariate of Abyssinia. Vol. 1: 1839-60; vol. 2: 1860-81; vol. 3: 1882-1916. Asmara: Ethiopian Studies Centre, 1982-87.
Cross-references
» Catholic soloists
» Catholic gospel groups
» Catholic YouTube channels
» Amharic Catholic hymnals
» Manuscript with Catholic hymns in Hadiyya
» Catholic liturgy: Ethiopian rite · Western rite
Video
Italian missionaries in 1940:
Invitation
There is little information available in English language on the gospel music of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia and Eritrea. If you can help fill our knowledge gaps, please contact us via the form at the bottom of this page.