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Vicar General of Nigeria’s Minna Diocese Appointed Auxiliary Bishop

Msgr. Luka Sylvester Gopep, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Nigeria’s Minna Diocese by Pope Francis Wednesday, December 9.

The Vicar General of Nigeria’s Minna Diocese, Msgr. Luka Sylvester Gopep, is expected to serve as the Auxiliary Bishop of the same Diocese following his appointment by the Holy Father.

Msgr. Gopep’s appointment was announced Wednesday, December 9 and published by the Holy See Press Office. Pope Francis has assigned him the Titular church of Muzuca in Byzacena.

A native of Nigeria’s Diocese of Pankshin, the 55-year-old Bishop-elect was ordained a Priest in January 1998 for the Diocese of Minna.

Msgr. Gopep who has been serving as Vicar General of Bishop Martin Igwe Uzoukwu since 2012 has also been, since 2013, the Parish Priest of St. Christopher, Kwamba Parish of Minna Diocese.

Apart from the role of Parish Priest in various Parishes of Minna Diocese in his close to 22 years of Priestly ministry, the Bishop-elect has served as Rector of Christ the King Minor Seminary, Gwada of Minna Diocese (1998-2001) and Director of Vocations (2004-2013).

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As Auxiliary Bishop, Msgr. Gopep will be a full-time assistant to 70-year-old Bishop Uzoukwu who has been at the helm of Minna Diocese since 1996.

Erected as the Prefecture Apostolic of Minna on 9 November 1964, Minna was elevated to the rank of a Diocese on 17 September 1973.

The Nigerian Diocese, which is under the Ecclesiastical Province of Kaduna, has an estimated 88,000 Catholic population spread across an area of 36,031 square kilometers, according to 2018 statistics.

The Diocese is under the patronage of St. Michael.