Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha

Archdiocese of Onitsha
Archidioecesis Onitshanus
Location
Country  Nigeria
Territory Anambra State
Ecclesiastical province Onitsha
Coordinates 6°9′59.9472″N 6°46′59.9226″E / 6.166652000°N 6.783311833°E / 6.166652000; 6.783311833
Statistics
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2004)
2,060,490
1,373,660 (66.7%)
Parishes 183
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Latin Rite
Established 1950.04.18
Cathedral Holy Trinity Basilica
Secular priests 500
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Archbishop Most Rev. Valerian Okeke
Suffragans Abakaliki, Awgu, Awka, Enugu, Nnewi, Nsukka
Auxiliary Bishops Auxiliary Bishop Most, Rev. . Denis Chidi Isizoh (2015-present); ; appointed by Pope Francis on Friday, February 6, 2015[1]
Vicar General Most Rev. Denis Isizoh
Episcopal Vicars Fr. Patrick Omuta - Onitsha Region fr. Christopher Odina - Aguleri Region Fr. Emmanuel Egwuoba - Iyiowa Region Fr. Theophilus Odukwe - Dunukofia Region Fr. John Anosike - Nnobi Region Fr. Vincent Onuchukwu - Igbariam Region
Map

Anambra State is shown in red
Website
Onitsha-Archdiocese.org

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha (Latin: Onitshan(us)) is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Onitsha in Anambra State, Nigeria.

History

On 25 July 1889, the Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Niger was established out of an area that previously formed part of the larger Apostolic Vicariate of Benin Coast.

On 16 April 1920, the Prefecture was promoted as the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Nigeria. On 9 July 1934, the Vicariate was renamed from Southern Nigeria to Onitsha-Owerri. On 12 February 1948, the Vicariate was renamed again to its present name of Onitsha.

On 18 April 1950, the Vicariate was promoted to a Metropolitan See.

Special churches

The seat of the archbishop is the Holy Trinity Basilica (the only Basilica in Nigeria) in Onitsha.

Leadership

  • Father Léon-Alexander Lejeune, C.S.Sp. 23 May 1900 – 5 September 1905
  • Bishop Joseph (Ignatius) Shanahan, C.S.Sp. 20 September 1905 - 21 May 1931
  • Archbishop Charles Heerey, C.S.Sp. 21 May 1931 – 26 June 1967
  • Cardinal Francis Arinze 1967.06.26 – 1985.03.09
  • Archbishop Stephen Nweke Ezeanya 1985.03.09 – 1995.02.25
  • Archbishop Albert Kanene Obiefuna 1995.02.25 – 2003.09.01
  • Archbishop Valerian Okeke since 2003.09.01

Suffragan dioceses

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Fpress.vatican.va%2Fcontent%2Fsalastampa%2Fen%2Fbollettino%2Fpubblico%2F2015%2F02%2F06%2F0097%2F00214.html

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.