The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan ( la, Kafancan(us)) is a

diocese 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 associa ...

located in the city of

Kafanchan Kafanchan ('' Fantswam'': A̠byin Fantswam; '' Nikyob'': Manɡyanɡ) is a town located in the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria, which owes much of its development to the railway development in the area, being situated at a particular jun ...

in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

History

* July 10, 1995: Established as Diocese of Kafanchan from Metropolitan Archdiocese of Jos and Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaduna

Special churches

The

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

is St Peter Claver's Cathedral in Kafanchan.

Leadership

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s of Kafanchan (Roman rite) ** Bishop

Joseph Danlami Bagobiri Joseph Danlami Bagobiri (8 November 1957 – 27 February 2018) was a Nigerian Roman Catholic bishop. Ordained to the priesthood in 1983, Bagobiri served as bishop of Kafanchan Kafanchan ('' Fantswam'': A̠byin Fantswam; '' Nikyob'': Manɡyan� ...

(1995-2018) ** Bishop Julius Kundi (2019- )

Persecution and insecurity

Due to its location, the Diocese of Kafanchan has been subjected to cases of persecution or violence committed against its faithful and members of the clergy. In 2022 a priest was murdered following a kidnapping. Fr Mark Cheitnum was the communications director for the diocese and was kidnapped along with Fr Donatus Cleopas. According to Cleopas, who managed to later escape his abductors, Fr Mark was finding it difficult to keep up with the group as they were being taken into the bush, and was shot dead by his kidnappers. Two more priests from Kafanchan diocese were kidnapped in 2022. Fr Emmanuel Silas and Fr Joseph Shekari were both eventually released.

References

Sources