Archdiocese of Onitsha
| Archdiocese of Onitsha | |
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Country | Nigeria |
| Diocesan bishop | Valerian Okeke |
| Auxiliary bishop | Denis Chidi Isizoh |
| founding | 1889 |
| surface | 2,778 km² |
| Parishes | 160 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| Residents | 2,870,133 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| Catholics | 1,913,423 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| proportion of | 66.7% |
| Diocesan priest | 340 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| Religious priest | 27 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| Catholics per priest | 5,214 |
| Friars | 153 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| Religious sisters | 569 (2016 / AP 2017 ) |
| rite | Roman rite |
| Liturgical language | English |
| cathedral | Cathedral Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity |
| Website | www.onitsha-archdiocese.org |
| Suffragan dioceses |
Diocese of Abakaliki Diocese of Awgu Diocese of Awka Diocese of Ekwulobia Diocese of Enugu Diocese of Nnewi Diocese of Nsukka |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha ( lat. : Archidioecesis Onitshana , Engl. : Archdiocese of Onitsha ) is in Nigeria situated Roman Catholic Archdiocese based in Onitsha .
history
The Archdiocese of Onitsha was on July 25, 1889 by Pope Leo XIII. established from the cession of territory by the Vicariate Apostolic Coast of Benin as the Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Niger . On April 16, 1920, the Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Niger by Pope Pius XI. Elevated to the Apostolic Vicariate and renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of South Nigeria . The Apostolic Vicariate of South Nigeria was founded on July 9, 1934 by Pius XI. renamed with the Apostolic Constitution Ad enascentis in Apostolic Vicariate Onitsha-Owerri . On 12 February 1948, the Apostolic Vicariate Onitsha- was Owerri in the Apostolic Vicariate Onitsha and Owerri shared.
The Apostolic Vicariate Onitsha was on April 18, 1950 by Pope Pius XII. with the Apostolic Constitution Laeto accepimus raised to the archbishopric. On November 12, 1962, the Archdiocese of Onitsha gave up parts of its territory to establish the Diocese of Enugu . Further territorial assignments took place on November 10, 1977 to found the Awka diocese and on November 9, 2001 to found the Nnewi diocese .
Ordinaries
Apostolic Prefect of Lower Niger
- Joseph Lutz CSSp , 1889–1895
- Léon-Alexander Lejeune CSSp, 1900-1905
- Joseph Shanahan CSSp, 1905-1920
Vicars Apostolic of Southern Nigeria
- Joseph Shanahan CSSp, 1920-1931
- Charles Heerey CSSp, 1931-1934
Vicars Apostolic of Onitsha-Owerri
- Charles Heerey CSSp, 1934-1948
Vicars Apostolic of Onitsha
- Charles Heerey CSSp, 1948-1950
Archbishops of Onitsha
- Charles Heerey CSSp, 1950-1967
- Francis Arinze , 1967–1985
- Stephen Nweke Ezeanya , 1985-1995
- Albert Kanene Obiefuna , 1995-2003
- Valerian Okeke , since 2003
See also
Web links
- Homepage of the Archdiocese of Onitsha (English)
- Entry on the homepage of the Nigerian Bishops' Conference (English)
- Entry on Archdiocese of Onitsha on catholic-hierarchy.org (English)