Profile of the Church in Algeria

January 24, 2026

The Church in Algeria has 8,740 Catholics, or 0.2% of the total Algerian population of 45,398,000, according to statistics in the new (2025) edition of the Annuario Pontificio [Pontifical Yearbook], published by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Remarkably, one diocese reported no baptisms in 2024, and another reported only one.

The 2026 edition of The World Almanac, in contrast, reports that the North African nation has a population of 47,735685, 98.0% of whom are Muslim (Sunni).

Algeria’s four ecclesial jurisdictions reported to the Vatican a total of 29 parishes, five mission churches, 11 resident diocesan priests, 48 religious-order priests, one permanent deacon, two seminarians, 20 religious brothers, and 105 religious sisters. The four jurisdictions—one archdiocese and three dioceses—reported a combined 21 baptisms and no priestly ordinations in 2024.

The Archdiocese of Algiers has 4,200 Catholics, in an area a total population of 12,815,000. The archdiocese has eight parishes (or quasi-parishes), one mission church, four diocesan priests, 20 religious-order priests, no permanent deacons, one seminarian, five religious brothers, and 44 sisters. It operates 14 educational institutions and nine charitable institutions and reported 17 baptisms and no priestly ordinations in 2024. Founded as a diocese in 1838 and merged with the Diocese of Iulia Caesarea, it became an archdiocese in 1866. The see has been led by Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, OP, since 2021.

The archdiocese’s suffragan sees are

• the Diocese of Constantine, which has 690 Catholics in an area with a total population of 16,017,000. The diocese has six parishes, two mission churches, five diocesan priests, six religious-order priests, one permanent deacon, no seminarians, no brothers, and 13 sisters. It operates no educational institutions and three charitable institutions. It reported three baptisms and no priestly ordinations in 2024. Founded in 1866, the see has been led by Bishop Michel Guillaud since 2025.
• the Diocese of Laghouat, which has 2,320 Catholics in an area with a total population of 5,478,000. The diocese has nine parishes, two mission churches, two diocesan priests, 13 religious-order priests, no permanent deacons, no seminarians, six brothers, and 19 sisters. It operates no educational institutions and no charitable institutions. It reported no baptisms and no priestly ordinations in 2024. With roots dating to 1901, the see became a diocese in 1955 has been led by Bishop Diego Ramón Sarrió Cucarella, M Afr, since 2025.
• the Diocese of Oran, which has 1,530 Catholics in an area with a total population of 11,088,000. The diocese has six parishes, no mission churches, no diocesan priests, nine religious-order priests, no permanent deacons, one seminarian, nine brothers, and 29 sisters. It operates no educational institutions and six charitable institutions. It reported one baptism and no priestly ordinations in 2024. Founded in 1866, the see has been led by Bishop Davide Carraro, PIME, since 2023.

Algeria gained its independence from France in 1962; under the nation’s constitution, Islam is the state religion. The U.S. State Department reported in 2023:

The constitution declares Islam to be the state religion and prohibits state institutions from behaving in a manner that infringes on Islamic morals. The law grants all individuals the right to practice their religion if they respect public order and regulations. “Offending or insulting” any religion is a criminal offense. The law criminalizes blasphemy but not apostasy. Proselytizing to Muslims by non-Muslims is a crime.

Nineteen martyrs of Algeria, killed between 1994 and 1996, were beatified in 2018. Last December, Pope Leo XIV said, “I hope to go to Algeria to visit the places of Saint Augustine, but also in order to continue the conversation of dialogue, of building bridges between the Christian world and the Muslim world ... It is interesting that the figure of Saint Augustine helps a great deal as a bridge, because in Algeria he is very much respected as a son of the homeland.”

---

Series:

• Profile of the Church in Albania (CWN, 1/17/26)
• Profile of the Church in Algeria (CWN, 1/24/26)

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Annuario Pontificio