RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Morocco

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Moroccan Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Moroccan Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Dominique Mamberti (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 70.70, Dominique Mamberti is the most famous Moroccan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Dominique François Joseph Mamberti (French: [dɔminik mɑ̃bɛʁti]; born 7 March 1952) is a French Catholic prelate who has served as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura since 2014. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. In 2025, serving as the cardinal protodeacon, he announced the election of Pope Leo XIV from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica following the 2025 papal conclave.

2. Zeno of Verona (300 - 371)

With an HPI of 67.99, Zeno of Verona is the 2nd most famous Moroccan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Zeno of Verona (Venetian: Xenòn de Verona or Xen de Verona; Italian: Zenone da Verona; about 300 – 371 or 380) was an Afro-Italian Christian figure believed to have either served as Bishop of Verona or died as a martyr. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

3. Ahmad al-Badawi (1199 - 1276)

With an HPI of 64.63, Ahmad al-Badawi is the 3rd most famous Moroccan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Aḥmad el-Badawī (Egyptian Arabic: أحمد البدوى, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈæħmæd elˈbædæwi]), also known as Elsayyid Elbadawī (السيد البدوى [esˈsæjjed elˈbædæwi]), or as Elsayyid for short, or reverentially as Elsayyid Elbadawi by Sufi Muslims who venerate saints, was a 13th-century Arab Sufi Muslim mystic who became famous as the founder of the Badawiyyah order of Sufism. Born in Fes, Morocco to a Bedouin tribe originally from the Syrian Desert, al-Badawi eventually settled for good in Tanta, Egypt in 1236, whence he developed a posthumous reputation as "One of the greatest saints in the Arab world" As al-Badawi is perhaps "the most popular of Sufi saints in Egypt", his tomb has remained a "major site of visitation" for Sufis in the region.

4. Philippe Barbarin (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 63.85, Philippe Barbarin is the 4th most famous Moroccan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Philippe Xavier Christian Ignace Marie Barbarin (born 17 October 1950) is a French Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 2002 to 2020. He was made a cardinal in 2003. He was convicted in 2019 of failing to report alleged sex abuse by a priest and was given a suspended six-month prison sentence. The same year, Barbarin turned the archdiocese over to an administrator while he appealed his case. His conviction was overturned in 2020 but Pope Francis accepted his resignation just over a month later.

5. Al-Shadhili (1197 - 1258)

With an HPI of 62.99, Al-Shadhili is the 5th most famous Moroccan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili (Arabic: أبو الحسن الشاذلي) (full name: Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār al-Ḥasanī wal-Ḥusaynī al-Shādhilī) also known as Sheikh al-Shadhili (593–656 AH) (1196–1258 AD) was an influential Moroccan Islamic scholar and Sufi, founder of the Shadhili Sufi order.

6. Baba Sali (1889 - 1984)

With an HPI of 60.62, Baba Sali is the 6th most famous Moroccan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Yisrael Abuhatzeira (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל אַבּוּחַצִירָא; 26 September 1889 – 8 January 1984), known as the Baba Sali (Hebrew: בַּאבָּא סָאלִי; Arabic: بابا صلى; lit. 'Praying Father') was a leading Moroccan Sephardic rabbi and kabbalist who was renowned for his ability to work miracles through his prayers. His burial place in Netivot, Israel has become a shrine for prayers and petitioners.