The Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The Catholic Church is the world's largest Christian Church, and its largest religious grouping. There are an estimated 5 million Catholics in the Dominican Republic (48% of the population).[1] In 2020, just over 50% of Dominicans identified as Catholic,[2] served by 1140 priests across 709 parishes.[3]
Within the Dominican Republic the hierarchy consists of:
The Dominican Republic offers religious freedom, and Catholicism is the official religion of the state; this was signed into law by the 1954 concordat with the Vatican. Under Rafael Trujillo's government, the power of the Catholic Church was limited.