Introduction:
Christianity arrived in the Gambia with Portuguese sailors in
1456 when they sailed upriver and landed on James
Island. There are now over 200,000 Christians of various
denominations including Roman Catholics, various protestant denominations
including Methodists, Anglicans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists,
Seventh-Day Adventists and others.
Chrismas Day
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 Despite
earlier predictions that the community would eventually be swamped
by the Muslim majority their
total numbers have in fact grown. This has been helped by the
arrival of the new evangelical
movements from other countries including West Africa. They have
spurred some people with vigorous gospel speeches, local assistance,
aid and have built a number of places of worship and who continue
to get some willing converts.
Compared to the 19th and first half of the 20th century the faith
is less about converting people than it is about re-enforcing
the faith, supporting charity work in villages,
education and giving skills
assistance to help youth schemes. Today there is a network of
countrywide churches with the most magnificent standing on Banjul's
Daniel Goddard St. (formerly Hagan Street) known locally as "Cathedral".
There are 52,000 Catholics who make up 2.3% of the population
with a total of 36 priests and just over over 30 parishes. [gccatholic.org
- 2024]
Christians work actively with Muslim
communities all over the country on various projects and even
accept them in their schools such as St. Augustine's High. There
is also the Gambian Christian Council which is composed of various
religions and denominations who discuss matters of common interest.
History:
In the early 19th century the religion got a boost when freed
slaves who were converts came
to settle in Gambia after the creation of Bathurst on St. Mary's
Island. In 1849 a Catholic mission was established in the settlement
however, Catholicism floundered for the next half a century until
1905 when the Irish father (Giovanni) John Meehan arrived on the
scene. In 1931 he created the Vicariate Apostolic of Senegambia
and separated it from Dakar. In 1950 the Catholic population was
just over 3,000. 1951 saw the Vicariate elevated to the Prefecture
Apostolic of Bathurst in Gambia and in 1957 to The Diocese of
Bathurst.
The Methodist Church is one of the earliest churches in
Africa and has a history going back to 1821 when John Baker and
John Morgan first arrived at Tendaba
where they found a frosty reception. They later moved down to
Banjul to found Bathurst's first high school for boys. In 1935
the Wesley Church was build in Macoumba Jallow St. Later, chapels
and churches appeared in Serrekunda, Bakau, Georgetown and other
areas of the Kombo St. Mary District as well as up-river districts.
The Church of England built the Anglican Cathedral of St. Mary
in 1901 and also proceeded to build schools and other places of
worship. See also Aku people.
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