L’Université Catholique Du Congo
Bachelor in Canon Law
Kinshasa, Congo, DR
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
French
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: Created by the National Episcopal Conference of Congo and canonically erected by Congregation for Catholic Education, the Faculty of Canon Law teaches canon science and conducts rigorous research in harmony with Roman law, modern civil law and African customs. It trains experts faithful to the ecclesiastical Magisterium. Studies run in three cycles: graduate 2 years, license 3 years, doctorate at least 4 years.
Career Outcomes: Graduates may work as canon lawyers, tribunal judges, notaries, chancellors, seminary teachers, governance advisors to bishops and major superiors, diocesan tribunal staff, researchers, or academics. The license may combine with Aggregation for secondary teaching.
Created by the National Episcopal Conference of Congo and canonically erected by the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Faculty of Canon Law intends to promote in-depth teaching and rigorous research in canon science in harmony with Roman law, modern civil law and African customs.
It thus trains experts in Canon Law in a spirit of service and complete fidelity to the ecclesiastical Magisterium. These experts will also apply themselves to the inculturation of canonical legislation in Africa, “without undermining divine law and the great discipline of the Church”.
In this perspective, the Faculty of Canon Law contributes to resolving, first of all, the urgent need for the African Church:
– to provide the faculties, the various higher ecclesiastical institutes and the Major Seminaries with qualified personnel for courses in Canon Law;
– to provide the ecclesiastical tribunals with competent judicial personnel;
– to provide Bishops and Major Superiors of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life with specialists who can help them in their respective governments.
To achieve these objectives, the courses are divided into three cycles: the graduate in 2 years, the license in 3 years and the doctorate in at least 4 years, the first 2 of which are devoted to the Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies (DEA).
The license program in Canon Law can be supplemented by that of the Aggregation of higher secondary education which authorizes the licensee to teach in secondary schools.
The course program of the Faculty of Canon Law of L'Université Catholique Du Congo is established in accordance with article 55 of the "Ordinances" of the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education with a view to a concrete application of the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana and of the decree by which the organization of studies in the Faculties of Canon Law of the same Congregation is renewed.
The program of the first cycle, that is to say the graduate is made up of subjects divided into 4 axes: philosophical, theological, legal, languages and others (related disciplines). It includes general courses allowing the student to acquire the bases to face the study of the Code of Canon Law.
