Diocese of Constantine

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Constantine is a Roman Catholic diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Algiers in Algeria.

History

Already since the second century the town of Constantine, then known as Cirta, was the seat of a bishop until the region fell to the invading Arab Muslims in the seventh century.
On 25 July 1866, the diocese was established from the Diocese of Algiers as Diocese of Constantine. Its name was changed to the Diocese of Constantine on 23 September 1867. The territory of this diocese is much bigger than that of the ancient diocese of Cirta and compromises around 195 dioceses that existed in the fifth century. Before the enforcement of the Association law of 1901, the Lazarists, the Little Brothers of Mary and the White Fathers were active in the diocese.

The diocese is located in north eastern Algeria. It includes parishes in Constantine, Annaba, Skikda, Sétif, Béjaïa, Batna, and Tébessa.

The current pro-cathedral is the minor basilica Basilica of Saint Augustine in Annaba. The former seat of the diocese was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Sept-Douleurs in Constantine. The building was constructed in 1730 to serve as Souq el-Ghizal mosque, enlarged and converted to a Catholic cathedral during the French colonial period, and then returned to its original use in 1962 as the El Bey Mosque.