Roman Catholicism in Africa

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The Roman Catholic Church in the continent of Africa, began in the 1st century A.D. when the Patriarchate of Alexandria was formed, as one of the four original Patriarchs of the East; also including Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Today it is composed of approximately 135,600,000 members of the 809,105,000 residents in Africa, whereas 16.5% of the entire population is a declared Roman Catholic. As a result, Africa has the 3rd largest number of Catholics in the world, behind Latin America and Europe, respectively. Under the leadership and directive of the Church of Rome, the current Supreme Pontiff (or Pope) of the Roman Catholic Church is Benedict XVI and its Cardinal Secretary of State is Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone.