On Hagan Street, at the corner of Picton Street, in the centre of Banjul, the cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is the seat of the diocese of Banjul. It is a diocese, not an archdiocese. The sources differ on the date of the building: some place its origin in 1850, others in the colonial construction of 1913-1916, and it has not been possible to reconcile the two, while neither an architect nor a specific architectural style is documented. Catholic jurisdiction in the Gambia was erected as a mission sui iuris in 1931, raised to apostolic prefecture of Bathurst in 1951 and to diocese of Bathurst in 1957, then renamed diocese of Banjul in 1974, after the colonial capital Bathurst took its present name. The present bishop is Gabriel Mendy, of the Holy Spirit Fathers, the first Gambian to lead the diocese, in office since 30 November 2017. The Gambia is an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, between ninety-five and ninety-six per cent of the population according to the most recent estimates, with a Christian minority of around three to four per cent and a Catholic community estimated at between fifty thousand and fifty-five thousand people depending on the year of reference. On 11 December 2015 President Yahya Jammeh unilaterally declared the Gambia an «Islamic Republic» during a rally at Brufut, assuring at the same time that the rights of Christians would be respected. The question was never settled by law or by the constitution, and the Christian Council of the Gambia was still asking for the secular State to be written into the constitution in December 2019. The successor of Jammeh, Adama Barrow, announced verbally at a press conference on 28 January 2017 that the Gambia would no longer be called an «Islamic Republic», a gesture that was purely nominal, not a decree or a formal constitutional amendment. Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Gambia go back to 1978, and the apostolic nunciature, erected in 1979, has never had a resident seat in the Gambia, being entrusted to the nuncio in Liberia, who lives at Monrovia. The only papal visit to the Gambia, and to this cathedral, was that of John Paul II, who addressed the clergy, the religious and the laity in this building on 23 February 1992, within a journey that also touched Senegal and Guinea; no other pope has ever come.
About the Cathedral
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, on Hagan Street in Banjul, is the seat of the Diocese of Banjul — a single, non-metropolitan diocese, not an archdiocese. Sources disagree on whether the building dates to 1850 or to colonial-era construction in 1913–1916, and no architect or architectural style is documented.
Key facts
- 1931: Catholic mission in Gambia erected as a Mission sui iuris.
- 1957: elevated to the Diocese of Bathurst; renamed Diocese of Banjul in 1974.
- 23 February 1992: Pope John Paul II addresses clergy, religious and laity at this cathedral — the only papal visit to The Gambia on record.
- 11 December 2015: President Yahya Jammeh unilaterally declares The Gambia an “Islamic Republic”
- 28 January 2017: President Adama Barrow verbally announces the country will no longer use that designation, though no formal legal reversal followed.
- Catholics number roughly 50,000–55,000, around 2–3% of a nation that is about 95% Muslim.
History
Seat of a small Catholic diocese in one of West Africa’s most overwhelmingly Muslim nations, the cathedral hosted the only papal visit The Gambia has ever received, when John Paul II addressed the Catholic community here in February 1992. Two decades later, the country’s status as a religiously plural but constitutionally undefined state came under strain when President Yahya Jammeh declared an “Islamic Republic” in December 2015 — a declaration his successor informally set aside in 2017 without ever formally repealing it, leaving the country’s Christian Council still pressing years later for secularism to be written explicitly into law.
What you see
A square brick bell tower with twin-tier lancet windows and a stepped, castellated crown rises above Banjul’s low rooftops, with the pink-tiled roof of the nave visible behind it — the tower is the building’s most recognizable feature from street level.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily outside services; check current hours before visiting.
- Address: 73 Hagan Street, at Picton Street, Banjul, The Gambia.
Getting there
The cathedral stands in central Banjul, on Hagan Street at its corner with Picton Street. GPS: 13°27′04″N, 16°34′28″W.
Nearby
- Arch 22 — Banjul’s monumental independence-era arch, a landmark elsewhere in the compact capital.
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Banjul,” “Roman Catholic Diocese of Banjul”
- GCatholic.org and Catholic-Hierarchy.org — Diocese of Banjul records.
- Vatican.va — primary transcript of Pope John Paul II’s 23 February 1992 address in Banjul.
- Associated Press, Al Jazeera, AFP/Dawn.com — coverage of Yahya Jammeh’s December 2015 “Islamic Republic” declaration.
- US State Department — International Religious Freedom Report, The Gambia.
- CIA World Factbook — Gambia religious demographics.
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Become a Cultural Heritage Online photographer
Share your photos of places: they stay published under your name as the author. The more they're seen, the more you get noticed — and soon a contest will reward the most appreciated photos.
Log in or sign up free to add a photo