Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria

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The Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria is part of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide .

history

First contacts with Christian priests are dated to the year 1470. 1543 was by Pope Paul III. founded the diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe . In 1860 the religious of the Society of Africa Missions (SMA) settled in Lagos , and from 1885 also the Spiritans (CSsP) .

In 1960 Lagos became the seat of the Apostolic Delegation for Central and West Africa. After the Biafra War from 1967 to 1970, during which most of the foreign missionaries were expelled, diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the Holy See could not be resumed until 1976. In 1982 Pope John Paul II visited Nigeria. The Catholic Church is developing into the largest Christian denomination in the country, in the north it is a religious minority.

In the Igbo settlement areas there is a high proportion of Catholics. In the north of the country the number of Muslims clearly exceeds that of Catholic Christians. In Nigeria, since the introduction of Sharia law in 2000 , there has been massive persecution of Christians and violent conflicts in the predominantly Islamic north of the country , mainly in the corresponding areas, but also in neighboring states. In January 2010, over 200 people died in a dispute over the construction of an Islamic mosque in a Christian district of Jos .

The bishops' conference , the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) , is chaired by its chairman, Ignatius Kaigama , Archbishop of Jos . The vice chairman is Augustine Obiora Akubeze , Archbishop of Benin City . The Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria has been Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi since April 26, 2017 .

Francis Arinze is a Curial Cardinal Emeritus and the most senior Catholic in Nigeria.

Dioceses

The country is divided into the following church provinces and dioceses (bishoprics):

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Travelogue, October 31 to November 5, 2006 ".... as if there were two nations" ( Memento from June 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Open Doors World Tracking Index 2009 - Overview ( Memento from July 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ "Massacre in Nigeria. Hunting, hunting, killing ” , Spiegel Online , January 22, 2010
  4. ↑ “Interviews with the Butchers of Nigeria” , Tages-Anzeiger , February 11, 2010
  5. ^ Dioceses According to Ecclesiastical Provinces