Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri

(Redirected from Diocese of Owerri) Roman Catholic archdiocese in Nigeria For the Diocese of Owerri in the Church of Nigeria, see Anglican Province of Owerri.

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Archdiocese of Owerri Archidioecesis Overriensis

Assumpta Cathedral
Location
Country	Nigeria
Territory	Imo State
Ecclesiastical province	Owerri
Coordinates	5°29′06″N 7°02′06″E / 5.48500°N 7.03500°E / 5.48500; 7.03500
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji
Suffragans	Aba, Ahiara, Okigwe, Orlu, Umuahia
Auxiliary Bishops	Moses Chikwe
Bishops emeritus	Anthony J. V. Obinna
Map
Imo State shown in red
Website
owarch.org.ng

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri (Latin: Archidioecesis Overriensis) is located in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The Seat of Wisdom Seminary is in Owerri. The archdiocese covers an area of 2,996 km. 670,986 of the 1.7 million people in the area are member of the Catholic Church.

History

The diocese dates back to the Vicariate Apostolic of Owerri, which was created on February 12, 1948, when the Vicariate Apostolic of Onitsha-Owerri was split. On April 18, 1950, it was elevated to a diocese. On March 26, 1994, it became an Archdiocese.

On 27 December 2020, auxiliary bishop Moses Chikwe and his driver were kidnapped by gunmen in Owerri. They were both released unharmed and without ransom, on 1 January 2021.

Bishops

Ordinaries

Vicar Apostolic of Owerri (Latin Church)
- Joseph Brendan Whelan, C.S.Sp. 12 Feb 1948 – 18 Apr 1950; see below
Bishops of Owerri (Roman rite)
- Joseph Brendan Whelan, C.S.Sp. 18 Apr 1950 – 25 Jun 1970; see above
- Mark Onwuha Unegbu 25 Jun 1970 – 1 Jul 1993
- Anthony J.V. Obinna 1 Jul 1993 – 1993; see below
Metropolitan Archbishops of Owerri (Roman rite)
- Anthony John Valentine Obinna 26 Mar 1994 – 6 Mar 2022; see above
- Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji since 6 Mar 2022; see above