Inside Christianity in Somalia Where Most Catholics are Foreign Nationals

There are also Christian organizations in Somalia, including Caritas Somalia and the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), among others.

The Bishop says that in the past, the presence of Christians in Somalia was mainly of foreign origin, adding, “Up to 1990 it was said that there were over 2000 Christians, 90 percent of them from foreign countries, especially Italians, including teachers from the national university.”

“Beyond the physical presence, there is a moral presence that has its own great importance in the country and passes through the words of the Pope,” Bishop Bertin says, adding that Pope Francis has always remembered Somalia’s difficulties and called the world’s attention to the country’s situation.

The 74-year-old Bishop calls on all the Christians in Somalia to be missionaries in the country, saying, “I myself regularly visit the country and I encourage the lay faithful present to give a Christian witness through their commitment, work, humanitarian action.”

“I ask them (Christians) to be our missionaries and to help everyone understand the importance of respecting differences and behaving all as brothers and sisters,” the Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu says.

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Meanwhile, the Bishop has weighed in on the atmosphere in Somalia ahead of the country’s presidential elections scheduled for October and said that what the public aspires for is peace.

He says that there has been “an air of cautious optimism” as the country prepares for the elections.

“I would like to insist more on the adjective ‘cautious’ than on the noun ‘optimism’, because since I have been in Somalia, or in any case in the Horn of Africa, I have seen many attempts like these, which ended badly,” Bishop Bertin says.

He adds, “I live in Djibouti, but I have the responsibility of Somalia where I go regularly. The last few months, since the beginning of 2021, have been particularly difficult, marked by political turmoil as well as by the usual classic attacks carried out especially by Al-Shabaab.”

The Italian-born Bishop says that strong tensions have been recorded in relations between the various States that make up the Somali Federation.

Tension has also been brewing between Somalia and her neighbor Kenya over disputed oil fields between the two countries, he says, adding that the biggest problem, however, has been the delay of elections.

“The main issue was the elections… The registry, for example, does not even exist in the cities; it was all destroyed between '90 and '91, but then there is a big security problem with some areas controlled entirely by Al-Shabbaab or other forces such as Isis,” Bishop Bertin says in the July 1 report.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.