Handbook of African Catholicism

Overview

 Catholic Media Association Award Winner

“Fills an important theological lacuna in the African theological landscape and is a must-read for students, scholars, and lovers of African God talk. This long-awaited and long-overdue volume is an oasis in our Sahara Desert. Now we can all quench our thirst with the Handbook of African Catholicism.”—Musa W. Dube, Emory University

“Many African countries remain in a state of flux, dancing near the brink, neither able to achieve their desired greatness nor totally tripping into the abyss. There is an urgent need for renewed theological thinking to help the Catholic Church clarify its thoughts on how to help the continent. This volume by a younger generation of African scholars is a welcome contribution to knowledge and Catholic intellectual tradition.”—Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto, author, Witness to Justice

“Contributors to this momentous interdisciplinary volume capture the religious imagination of Catholicism grounded in Africa’s rich cultural diversity.”—Caroline N. Mbonu, HHCJ, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

“This volume, an amazing achievement of immense service to the academy and the ordinary reader, assures interest in the development of theology in Africa, and in the indispensable role of African theology at the service of the local and world church.”—Elochukwu Uzukwu, author, A Listening Church: Autonomy and Communion in African Churches

“I welcome this comprehensive account of African Catholicism. It is my hope that this work will stimulate further exploration of these topics in relation to Africa and the World Church. I recommend this volume for a prominent place in the libraries of seminaries and Catholic institutions.”—Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, vice president, Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar

“A product of several years of collaborative palaver, this volume is a triumph for Africa’s Catholic scholars; indispensable for academics, pastoral agents, and all interested in global Catholicism.”—Paul Gifford, author, Christianity, Development, and Modernity in Africa

“A breathtaking and spectacular cartography of the spiritual and theological force of contemporary African Catholicism.”—Susan Abraham, president, Concilium: International Journal of Theology

“A landmark achievement that demonstrates the diverse maturing of African Catholic theology and serves the ongoing learning of the world church.”—Paul D. Murray, the Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University, UK

Provides a disciplinary map for understanding African Catholicism today by engaging some of the most pressing and pertinent issues, topics, and conversations in diverse fields of studies in African Catholicism. A road map for scholars in following the development of African Christian thought, the current state of research in specific areas, and methodological approaches being employed in understanding the Christian movement as it crosses different cultural, religious, and social frontiers in Africa.

 Stan Chu Ilo is research professor of world Christianity and African Studies at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul University, Chicago. He is also author of A Poor and Merciful Church (Orbis 2018) and editor of the African Christian Studies Series at Wipf and Stock Publishers.

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