Roman Catholicism in Cyprus

The Roman Catholic Church in Cyprus is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.

There are around 10,000 Catholic faithful in Cyprus, corresponding to just over 1% of the total population. Most Catholic worshippers are either Maronites under their Archbishop, or Latins, under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with a Patriarchal Vicar General. The [http://www.cypruscatholicchurch.org Latin Catholic Church of Cyprus] has four parishes:

* Nicosia [http://www.cypruscatholicchurch.org/nicosia.php Holy Cross] Catholic Church, which maintains a mission at [http://www.cypruscatholicchurch.org/kyrenia.php St. Elizabeth] Catholic Church in Kyrenia in the Turkish-occupied territories
* Larnaca [http://www.cypruscatholicchurch.org/larnaca.php St. Mary of Graces] Catholic Church
* Limassol [http://www.cypruscatholicchurch.org/limassol.php St. Catherine] Catholic Church
* Paphos [http://www.cypruscatholicchurch.org/paphos.php Aya Kyriakí] Catholic Church
* The [http://www.paphoscatholic-churches.com Sisters of St.Bruno and Bethlehem] have a small convent at Mesa Chorio served by the parish priest of Paphos. A recently constructed [http://www.hospiceofsaintmichael.com/www.hospiceofsaintmichael.coms/frames.php hospice] for palliative care, regardless of nationality or religious persuasion extends the works of charity of the Catholics in Cyprus, providing a valuable witness to the Culture of Life as the European Union enters a new phase of growth and development.

acred sites in Cyprus

Many of the religious sites in Cyprus can be traced to early [http://www.paphoscatholic-churches.com/overview.htm Byzantine foundations] , built before the Christian schism between the Latins and New Rome in the 11th century. Their [http://www.paphoscatholic-churches.com/photos.htm architechture and iconography] reveal a profound influence on ecclesial building traditions still in use in modern times, further examples are listed under Cypriot Orthodox Church. In the Middle Ages, Cyprus was ruled by a Frankish aristocracy, the Lusignan dynasty. They favored the Gothic style when establishing cathedrals and monasteries. The former Roman Catholic Augustinian Cloister named [http://www.north-cyprus-properties.com/places/bellapais-monastery/default.asp Bellepais] near Kyrenia was transferred to Orthodox Church authorities when the Ottomans conquered Cyprus at the close of the 16th century. Other Gothic churches were converted to mosques, for example in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
] and in Famagusta, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.

Religious freedom in Cyprus

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) reports that ecumenical collaboration holds signs of promise and hope for religious freedom in the northern Turkish occupied territory of this divided island, for example the 1994 [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=22&IndexView=toc celebration of the Eucharist] at St. Andrew monastery on the Karpas peninsula, the first in 20 years. The [http://www.un.int Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the UN] traces the political representation of Catholics in Cyprus to the conciliatory work of the last British Governor, Sir Hugh Foot, who brokered a conflict between Roman Catholics and Maronites by coining the term [http://www.un.int/cyprus/pr070900.htm "Latins"] for voter registration purposes during drafting of the Constitution of the newly-independent Republic.