Jurisdiction: | Diocese |
Maiduguri | |
Latin: | Dioecesis Maiduguriensis |
Country: | Nigeria |
Territory: | Borno State |
Province: | Jos |
Metropolitan: | Archbishop of Jos |
Coordinates: | 11.8464°N 13.16°W |
Area Km2: | 132,000 |
Population: | 6,612,685 |
Population As Of: | 2021 |
Catholics: | 202,745 |
Parishes: | 43 |
Denomination: | Catholic Church |
Sui Iuris Church: | Latin Church |
Rite: | Roman Rite |
Priests: | 60 |
Bishop Title: | Bishop |
Suffragan: | for one --> |
Auxiliary Bishops: | John Bogna Bakeni |
Archdeacon: | for one--> |
Map: | Nigeria Borno State map.png |
The Diocese of Maiduguri (Latin: Dioecesis Maiduguriensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Maiduguri in the ecclesiastical province of Jos in Nigeria.
The Cathedral is St Patrick's Cathedral in Maiduguri.
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."[1]