_WORLD WATCH______________________________
______________________MOROCCO____________________
New Franciscan outpost
A country St. Francis wanted to evangelize
Beginning September 15, there have been six Franciscan monks newly stationed in Morocco. The missionaries come from six different countries: Italy, Poland, Democratic Congo, Honduras, Chile, and Taiwan. They spent the first several weeks in a Franciscan community in Rabat to make contact with the local people, culture, language, and Church community, before moving in December to Tangiers.
The Catholic Church in Morocco is a small flock of only 25,000 out of a population of about 28 million. Scarce local vocations and an aging clergy hamper the work of evangelization in this almost completely Muslim land. To boost the presence of his order in Morocco —a land which St. Francis dreamed of visiting—Franciscan Superior General Giacomo Bini had sent an appeal to the Franciscan world, calling for volunteers to sustain the Moroccan community, which had dwindled to only 25 members.
Back to Catholic World Report January 2001 Table of Contents