Roman Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri

Catholic diocese in Nigeria

Diocese of Maiduguri

Dioecesis Maiduguriensis

Location
Country|  Nigeria
Territory| Borno State
Ecclesiastical province| Jos
Metropolitan| Archbishop of Jos
Coordinates| 11°50′47″N 13°09′36″E﻿ / ﻿11.84639°N 13.16000°E﻿ / 11.84639; 13.16000
Statistics
Area| 132,000[1] km2 (51,000 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics| (as of 2021)
6,612,685[2]
202,745[2] (3.1%)
Parishes| 43[2]
Information
Denomination| Catholic Church
Sui iuris church| Latin Church
Rite| Roman Rite
Established| June 7, 1966; 57 years ago (June 7, 1966)
Cathedral| Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Maiduguri
Secular priests| 60[2]
Current leadership
Pope| Francis
Bishop| Oliver Dashe Doeme
Auxiliary Bishops| John Bogna Bakeni
Vicar General|

* Donatus Tizhe (Administration)
* John William (Pastoral)[3]

Map

Maiduguri is in Borno State shown in red

The Diocese of Maiduguri (Latin: Dioecesis Maiduguriensis[4]) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Maiduguri in the ecclesiastical province of Jos in Nigeria.

## History[edit]

* June 29, 1953: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Maiduguri from Apostolic Prefecture of Jos
* June 7, 1966: Promoted as Diocese of Maiduguri

## Special churches[edit]

The Cathedral is St Patrick's Cathedral in Maiduguri.

## Bishops[edit]

* Prefects Apostolic of Maiduguri (Roman rite)
* Father James Timothy Kieran Cotter, O.S.A. (1962.07.05 – 1966.06.07 see below)
* Bishops of Maiduguri (Roman rite)
* Bishop James Timothy Kieran Cotter, O.S.A. (see above 1966.06.07 – 1988.03.15)
* Bishop Senan Louis O'Donnell, O.S.A. (1993.09.18 – 2003.02.28)
* Bishop Matthew Man-oso Ndagoso (2003.02.28 - 2007.11.16), appointed Archbishop of Kaduna
* Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme (6 Jun 2009 Appointed - present)
* John Bogna Bakeni, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri 12 April 2022

### Other priests of this diocese who became bishop[edit]

* Stephen Dami Mamza, appointed Bishop of Yola in 2011

## Persecution and insecurity[edit]

Maiduguri was the diocese that suffered most from Boko Haram, having endured close to a decade of fierce persecution. Since 2020, however, the terrorist group has not carried out significant attacks in Maiduguri, a fact that Bishop Oliver Doeme attributes to divine intervention, in response to a Rosary prayer campaign he began after having a vision in which the Virgin Mary handed him a sword which turned into a Rosary. "The war was won on bended knee", he told journalists during a conference organised by Aid to the Church in Need, in July 2022.

In the same conference he explained that his region of Nigeria is now relatively peaceful. "To a large extent we can say that the north-eastern part of the country is more peaceful than other parts, because Nigeria is now in crisis, and we are experiencing a lot of evil forces in our country. You have the Fulani herdsmen attacking Christian communities, you have the bandits attacking communities and taking people away. The church is not spared. In different parts of the north, priests have been killed. So, the crisis may be subsiding in the northeast, but not in other parts of the north and even in the south."[5]

## See also[edit]

* Roman Catholicism in Nigeria

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria". GCatholic.org. 14 April 2023.
2. ^ a b c d "Maiduguri (Diocese)". Annuario Pontificio. 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023 - via Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
3. ^ "Maiduguri Diocese". Nigeria Catholic Network. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
4. ^ "Maiduguri (Diocese)". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
5. ^ "Nigeria: "We have never experienced what we are experiencing now", says Bishop of Maiduguri". ACN International. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.

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