John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan (born 29 January 1944) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was Archbishop of

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plan ...

from 1994 to 2019 and was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 2012. He has served as president of the

Christian Association of Nigeria The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is an umbrella organisation containing numerous Christian denominations in Nigeria. History The Christian Association of Nigeria was founded in 1976, and originally only contained the Catholic Church a ...

, president of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria is the Catholic episcopal conference of Nigeria. See also * Catholic Church in Nigeria References Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, N ...

and Bishop of

Ilorin Ilorin is the capital city of Kwara State in Western Nigeria.. Retrieved 18 February 2007 As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 777,667, making it the 7th largest city by population in Nigeria. History Ilorin was founded by the ...

Education and early career

Onaiyekan was born in the town of

Kabba Kabba is a city in Kogi State in mid west Nigeria. It lies near the Osse River, at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Okene, Ogidi, Ado-Ekiti, and Egbe. The town is about 295 kilometers away from Abuja. It is 511 kilometers from Lagos. ...

, in what is now

Kogi State Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to t ...

, to Bartholomew and Joann Onaiyekan. He attended St. Mary's Catholic School in Kabba from 1949 until 1956, Mount St. Michael's Secondary School in Aliade,

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...

, from 1957 until 1962, and Ss. Peter & Paul Major Seminary in

Bodija Bodija is a district in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The district gained prominence with the development of like-named high brow, a leafy residential estate created by the Western Nigeria Region after the independence of Nigeria. Most of the early ...

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...

, from 1963 until 1965. He completed his religious studies in Rome in 1969 and was ordained as a priest on 3 August of that year by Bishop Auguste Delisle of Lokoja Diocese.

Ahmadu Bello Ahmadu Ibrahim Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto (12 June 1910–15 January 1966), knighted as Sir Ahmadu Bello, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who masterminded Northern Nigeria through the independence of Nigeria in 1960 and served as its first ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of Nigeria's Northern Region, had offered him a scholarship to study abroad. Onaiyekan taught at St. Kizito's College,

Isanlu Isanlu is a town in Kogi State. It is the headquarters of Yagba East local government area of Kogi State in the South West (Nigeria), south western part of Nigeria. The current Agbana of Isanlu is Oba (king), Ọbá Moses Babatunde Etombi. Cultur ...

, in 1969. He became rector of St. Clement Junior Seminary in

Lokoja Lokoja is a city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Yoruba (Oworo), Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including th ...

in 1971. He completed his Licentiate of

Sacred Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...

in 1973 and earned his doctorate in 1976. He became Vice Rector of Ss. Peter & Paul in 1977.

Church leader

In October 1980,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named Onaiyekan to a five-year term on the

International Theological Commission The International Theological Commission (ITC) is a body of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church; it advises the magisterium of the church, particularly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Its mem ...

. In November, he joined the International Catholic/Methodist Dialogue Commission. Onaiyekan was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the interna ...

, and titular bishop of Thunusuda on 10 September 1982. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1983 by Pope John Paul II. He was named Bishop of Ilorin on 20 October 1984. On 7 July 1990 he was appointed

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

of the

. When that diocese became an

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

on 26 March 1994, Onaiyekan became its first archbishop. Onaiyekan was elected Vice-President of the

(CBCN) in 1994 and President of that body in 2000. During the administration of Nigerian President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...

, and especially during his second term between 2004 and 2007, Onaiyekan spoke out against the regime for its failure to support democratic principles and its corruption. Speaking in a service in his cathedral in 2005 with the president in attendance, he called on Obasanjo to resist the temptation to stand for a third term, which the Nigerian constitution did not allow, and asked him to "resist the deadly temptation to want to remain in power perpetually by hook or by crook". His stance was credited with saving Nigeria from the imposition of a dictatorship. He was named Pax Christi International's 2012 Peace Laureate. On 18 September 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

named Onaiyekan one of the Synod Fathers for the October 2012 Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization. He was created a

by Pope Benedict XVI in a

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

on 24 November 2012. As

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

he was assigned to the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

of San Saturnino. On 31 January 2013,

appointed Onaiyekan a member of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...

(CDF) and a member of the Presidential Committee of the

Pontifical Council for the Family The Pontifical Council for the Family was a pontifical council of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church from 1981 to 2016. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio ''Familia a Deo Instituta'', replacing the Com ...

. He can hold these positions until his 80th birthday. He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that elected

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

. Pope Francis appointed Onaiyekan the

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of the diocese of Ahiara in Imo State in eastern Nigeria on 3 July 2013. Pope Francis appointed him to a five-year renewable term as a member of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

in October 2016. He won the election for the position of

(CAN) President on 19 June 2007 with 72 votes over Anglican Primate

Peter Akinola Peter Jasper Akinola (born 27 January 1944, in Abeokuta) is the former Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is also the former bishop of Abuja and Archbishop of Province III, which covered the northern and central parts of the country ...

who had 33 votes. In 2010 he was succeeded by

Ayo Oritsejafor Ayodele Joseph Oritsegbubemi Oritsejafor, known as Papa Ayo Oritsejafor, is the founding and Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, located in Warri, Nigeria. He became the national president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) on ...

. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Abuja on 9 November 2019.

Honours

* Pax Christi International Peace Award, 2012

Works

*"The Priesthood in Pre-monarchial Ancient Israel and among the Owe-Yoruba of Kabba: A Comparative Study", unpublished dissertation (1976) *"The shariah in Nigeria: a Christian view", ''Bulletin on Islam & Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa'' (1987)

References

External links

* *
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onaiyekan, John Olorunfemi 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Nigeria People from Kogi State 1944 births Living people Nigerian Roman Catholics Yoruba Christian clergy Nigerian cardinals Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Christian Association of Nigeria Presidents Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Roman Catholic archbishops of Abuja Roman Catholic bishops of Ilorin 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Nigeria