Peter Ebere Okpaleke

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Peter Ebere Okpaleke (born March 1, 1963 in Amesi , Anambra , Nigeria ) is a Nigerian clergyman and Roman Catholic bishop of Ekwulobia .

Life

Peter Ebere Okpaleke received on 22 August 1992, the sacrament of Holy Orders .

On December 7, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him . to the bishop of Ahiara. The Archbishop of Owerri , Anthony John Valentine Obinna , donated him episcopal ordination on May 21, 2013 ; Co- consecrators were the Archbishop of Jos , Ignatius Ayau Kaigama , and the Archbishop of Abuja , Cardinal John Onaiyekan .

Even before his ordination, priests and lay people expressed their displeasure over the appointment of Peter Ebere Okpaleke as bishop, because Okpaleke belongs to the Igbo ethnic group , while most of the Catholics in his diocese are Mbaise , which led to ethnic conflicts there. His opponents argued that the Bishop of Ahiara must come from the diocese itself. Young people blocked Ahiara Cathedral so that the episcopal ordination had to take place in the neighboring Archdiocese of Owerri .

In July 2013, Pope Francis temporarily (until 2014) appointed Cardinal Onaiyekan as Apostolic Administrator . In June 2017, Pope Francis demanded a personal written declaration of loyalty to Bishop Okpaleke from each of the priests of the Ahiara diocese, to be addressed to him (the Pope). Anyone who does not comply with this requirement within 30 days will be suspended . Around 200 priests from the diocese of Ahiara followed the Pope's request.

The inauguration of Bishop Okpaleke was still pending more than five years after his appointment. Since Bishop Okpaleke could not enter his diocese, there were no priestly ordinations . At the beginning of 2018, 50 seminarians from the diocese of Ahiara, who had completed their training, were waiting for their ordination.

On February 19, 2018, Pope Francis accepted Peter Ebere Okpaleke's renunciation of the diocese of Ahiara. The bishop of Umuahia , Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji , was appointed provisional apostolic administrator .

On March 5, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him the first bishop of the diocese of Ekwulobia, which was established on the same date . The inauguration took place on April 29 of the same year.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pope intervenes in ethnic dispute over bishop. Catholic.de of June 9, 2017
  2. ^ Catholic News Agency, June 12, 2017.
  3. ^ Message from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples for the Diocese of Ahiara , Fides , February 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Peter Ajayi Dada: Obey the Pope and accept your bishop, Nigerian diocese is urged . In: Catholic Herald , London, August 17, 2017.
  5. ↑ Charles Collins: Polarizing Nigerian bishop backed by pope steps down , accessed April 26, 2018.
  6. ^ Rinuncia del Vescovo di Ahiara (Nigeria) e nomina dell'Amministratore Apostolico sede vacante ed ad nutum Sanctae Sedis. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , February 19, 2018, accessed February 19, 2018 (Italian).
  7. ↑ Pope accepts resignation due to unrest. Domradio from February 19, 2018
  8. ↑ erezione della nuova Diocese Ekwulobia (Nigeria) e nomina del primo Vescovo. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, March 5, 2020, accessed March 5, 2020 (Italian).
predecessor Office successor
Victor Adibe Chikwe Bishop of Ahiara
2012–2018 		vacant
--- Bishop of Ekwulobia
since 2020 		---
personal data
SURNAME Okpaleke, Peter Ebere
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian clergyman, Roman Catholic bishop of Ekwulobia
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Amesi , Anambra , Nigeria