The Church of the Sahel and Sahara: A Path of Faith and Hope

A few days ago, I called Fr. Alain Mugasho, a fellow missionary. Though separated by miles, our conversation revealed a shared experience that bridges continents and deserts. Just as in Niger and across the Sahel and the Sahara, Christianity is thriving in Algeria. Although he was thousands of miles distant from my home in Maradi, Niger Republic, and 2,000 km away from Algiers, what filled my memory was a picture of churches dotted on the desert sand, like a ribbon on a vast canvas, creating pathways of faith and bringing hope, like an oasis scattered in the desert.

People easily dismiss the presence and impact of Christianity in the Sahel and Sahara; a view I also held during my days in Nigeria as a young priest before my mission in the Niger Republic. But years of missionary experience reveal troves of silent Christian communities scattered across the Sahel and the Sahara. These churches, like urns bearing burning torches in the wilderness, have ancient stories that have been lost to history and time due to persecution by Islam, terrorism, conflicts and failed governance.  Still, they endure in the spirit of resilience.

The Pew Research Center Analysis of the Middle East and North Africa [MENA], “Religion in the Middle East and North Africa” region, which covers 20 countries and territories and includes North Africa, indicates that Christians make up approximately 3 percent of the population living in North Africa and the MENA region. This percentage represents approximately 13 million Christians out of a population of 440 million people. Caritas, a Catholic aid agency, estimates the population of Catholics in the Sahara and the Sahel at 4,825,000, although this estimate is based on its humanitarian outreach. 

Beneath what we know today as Christianity in these places lies a rich tapestry of history and tradition – a trove of stories, of Christian influences and faith forged by fire, wind, and storm. Between the 1st and 2nd centuries, Christianity was already established in North Africa, becoming one of the earliest regions outside the Levant to adopt the faith. The Acts of the Apostles describes people speaking diverse languages, including Phoenician, Roman, Egyptian, Libyan, and Pontic [Acts 2:9-11]. The region’s active trade routes facilitated the spread of Christianity. Roman urban centers were scattered across North Africa, with a diverse mix of populations, including Berbers, Romans, and Phoenicians, inhabiting the region.

By the end of the 2nd century, places like Alexandria in Egypt had become one of the most significant centers of Christian theology and learning. Across North Africa, the church flourished, producing great churchmen and bishops, such as Cyprian of Carthage, and Athanasius, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria. It was also the birthplace of early Christians like Tertullian [155 – 240 AD], the father of Latin Christianity and Augustine of Hippo [354 – 430 AD], a North African theologian who influenced Christianity worldwide.  Today Christianity flourishes in North Africa as a minority religion – mostly Roman Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, and some protestant groups. They are often composed of expatriates, converts, or descendants of early Christian communities. In the Sahara and Sahel, they sprout and grow like cactuses watered by the dews of resilience, deep faith and profound grace.

These churches are now found in the Niger Republic; the Churches of Maradi, Koni, Zinder and their surroundings nestling miles from each other on the arid dunes of the Sahara and the shrubby Sahel.  The churches in Libya include those in Tripoli, Massah, and Benghazi. In Algeria, the churches of Algiers, Oran, Constantine, and Hippone, as well as the churches of Laghouat and Ghardaï, and in Egypt, the churches of Alexandria, Cairo, and its surroundings.

 It is a privilege for me to tell the stories of these ancient church. I will feature in my subsequent columns the voices of the churches in Tunisia – specifically, the churches of Tunis, Sousse, Bizerte, and La Goulette. I will also highlight the vitality of the churches in Mauritania, particularly those in Nouakchott and its surrounding cities. I will tell the stories of the silent churches of Morocco – the churches of Tangier and Rabat, where faith rises like hollows from the amber sigh of sunlight flame and in the far away dune where caravans fade in mirage light.  In Sudan, we reflect on the churches of Khartoum —the city of the two Niles and its surrounding churches -where Christian charity rises beyond the dust to the sun’s keen gaze and the quiet distance of the Nile. In the Sahel, the voices of the churches in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Mali have a rich heritage and tradition that stretches back to the kingdom of Timbuktu.

These churches thrive not in grandeur but in the grace of obscurity. In this series, these churches will speak – not in a loud or hollowing voice but characterized by a humble mission that bears testimony to the resilience of faith.