NIGER, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

An arid, impoverished, and landlocked country in west-central Africa, the Republic of Niger is bordered on the north by Algeria and Libya, on the east by Chad, on the south by Nigeria, on the southwest by Burkina Faso and Benin, and on the west by Mali. The tropical southern savannah is home to most of Niger's population, while the north is characterized by sand dunes and desert plateau, the terrain broken by the mountainous Aïr region in its center. Peanuts, cowpeas, cotton and rice are among the nation's primary agricultural products, while natural resources include uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, gold and petroleum. Droughts, erosion, desertification and the destruction of wildlife populations due to poaching are among the problems faced by Niger, a country whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture and the export of uranium. The average life expectancy of a native Niger was 41.2 years in 2000; only 14 percent of the population was literate.

Europeans first entered Niger in the late 1700s, and missionaries arrived soon after, accessing the region via

the Niger river running south from Mali. The first Catholic mission, established in 1831 at Niamey, was entrusted to the Society of African Missions from the Vicariate of Dahomey (now Benin). In 1942 the Prefecture Apostolic of Niamey was created, with jurisdiction over northern Dahomey. When northern Dahomey was separated from this prefecture in 1948, Niger, with a portion of Upper Volta, was entrusted to the Redemptorists, but in 1949 the area of the Prefecture of Niamey was restricted to Niger. In 1961 the prefecture became the Diocese of Niamey.

Made a territory of French West Africa in 1904, Niger became an autonomous state of the French Community in 1958. It was granted full independence on Aug. 3, 1960. A military council took strict control of the government for most of the 1970s and 1980s, but in 1989 political activity was again made legal, resulting in the election of a coalition government led by Mahamane Ousmane. In 1990 Tuaregs rebels became active in the north, and violence against the government continued for five years before being resolved. In 1993 a constitution was drafted that authorized Niger's first free elections, but military coups in 1996 and again in 1999 further disrupted the nation. In 1999 a National Reconciliation Council make a further effort to establish civilian rule, and Mamadou Tandja was elected president with 60 percent of the vote. International aid, which had been suspended during the 1999 coup, resumed in 2000 as the government sought to develop Niger's struggling economy.

By 2000 Niger had 21 parishes, its faithful tended by four secular and 37 religious priests. Religious at work in the country included nine brothers and 90 sisters, who worked in the areas of health care and education, administering the country's eight primary and three secondary Catholic schools, as well as a hospital and health center in Galmi. Predominately Islamic, Niger's constitution nonetheless protected freedom of religion, and although a minority faith many followers of the Church were influential due to previous ties to the former French colonial government. Major Christian holidays were officially recognized by the state.

Bibliography: Bilan du Monde, 2:627–629. Annuario Pontificio has data on all diocese.

[j. bouchaud/eds.]