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Pope Francis Appoints University Chaplain Auxiliary Bishop in Nigeria

Mons. John Bogna Bakeni, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese in Nigeria on 12 April 2022. Credit: Courtesy Photo

By Magdalene Kahiu

Maiduguri, 12 April, 2022 / 9:05 pm (ACI Africa).

Pope Francis has appointed the Chaplain of the All Saints Catholic Chaplaincy of the University of Maiduguri Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese in Nigeria.

The appointment of Mons. John Bogna Bakeni who has been assigned the titular see of Leptimino was published by the Holy See Press Office on Tuesday, April 12.

Bishop-elect Bakeni has been serving as Catholic Chaplain at the Nigeria’s University of Maiduguri since 2020.

Born in March 1975 in the Diocese of Maiduguri, Mons. Bakeni started his Priestly studies in 1993 at Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Makurdi Diocese where he studied Philosophy. 

He studied Theology at St. Augustine's Major Seminary in the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos, and was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Maiduguri in August 2002.

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As a Priest, Mons. Bakeni has served in various capacities including Parish Priest, Administrator of St. Joseph’s Cathedral of Maiduguri Diocese, and Dean of Maiduguri.

The alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome where he obtained a Doctorate in Theology has also served as a Member of the College of Consultors, Secretary and Procurator of the Diocese of Maiduguri, and President of the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of the same Nigerian Episcopal See.

Once ordained Bishop, Mons. Bakeni will assist 61-year-old Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme in shepherding the people of God in the 132,000 square kilometer Diocese with an estimated population of 187,422 Catholics, according to 2019 statistics.

Established in June 1953 as the Prefecture Apostolic of Maiduguri, the Nigerian Episcopal See was elevated to a Diocese in June 1966. It is one of the five suffragan Dioceses of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos. 

Magdalene Kahiu

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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