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Guyane

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Population: 150,000 (1995)
Life expectancy males/females: 60/66 years
Infant mortality rate: 63‰
GDP per capita: US $590

Spiritan presence: since 1777 (1924).

The diocese of Cayenne takes in the whole territory of French Guyana. The population of more or less 140.000 inhabitants is extremely heterogeneous (Creole, Europeans, Amerindian and Haitian immigrants, Brazilians, Surinamians, west Indians, Asians...). so many distinctions and divisions in such a small population makes certain apostolic activities difficult. Two other demographic observations: the concentration of the population in Cayenne and the excessive growth in recent years (in 1975 the populations was only 50.000 inhabitants).

The Spiritans want to articulate themselves around three types of pastoral activity:

  • first evangelisation, especially on the banks of the two border rivers, the Maroni (Suriname) and the Oyapock (Brazil). In Maroni mission a team of young Nigerians are working, so diversifying the composition of the district, formerly only French.
  • urban pastoral work, linked to a diocesan pastoral project of renewal of the parishes.
  • pastoral work with immigrants, who do not cease to increase and diversify. The Church in Guyana, and therefore the Spiritans, is not prepared to cope with this situation. Could this not be a priority for Spiritans? In Guyana two thirds of the population is foreign.
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