The Diocese of Maiduguri ( la, Dioecesis Maiduguriensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of Jos in Nigeria.

History

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

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 denomination ...

is St Patrick's Cathedral in Maiduguri.

Bishops

* Prefects Apostolic of Maiduguri (Roman rite) ** Father James Timothy Kieran Cotter, O.S.A. (1962.07.05 – 1966.06.07 ''see below'') *

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 ca ...

s 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 John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri 12 April 2022

Other priests of this diocese who became bishop

* Stephen Dami Mamza, appointed Bishop of Yola in 2011

Persecution and insecurity

Maiduguri was the diocese that suffered most from

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...

, 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 The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

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 international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

, 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 Fulani herdsmen or Fulani pastoralists are nomadic or semi-nomadic Fulani people whose primary occupation is raising livestock. The Fulani herdsmen are largely located in the Sahel and semi-arid parts of West Africa, but due to relatively recen ...

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."

References