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Nigeria

Church in Akure, the largest city in Ondo State, Nigeria. Credit: Jordi C/Shutterstock

More than 600 Nigerian Christians Killed in 2020, New Report Says

May 18, 2020

Christians in Nigeria faced escalating persecution and a mounting death toll in the first four months of 2020, a new report has said.

Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins of Nigeria's Lagos Archdiocese.

Nigerian Archbishop Allays Fears over Access to Hospitals Offered for COVID-19 Patients

May 15, 2020

The Archbishop of Lagos in Nigeria has sought to allay fears of people who are reluctant to access the Catholic run health facilities in the Archdiocese following the announcement that the government can use the health centers to give care to COVID-19 patients.

The entrance of St. Raphael Divine Mercy Specialist Hospital

Nigeria’s Lagos Archdiocese Responds to Baby Theft Allegations at Its Health Facility

May 12, 2020

An official of Nigeria’s Archdiocese of Lagos has responded to claims that the staff at St. Raphael Divine Mercy Specialist Hospital in the country’s largest city, Lagos stole and sold off a twin baby soon after delivery, dismissing the allegations as “baseless and unsubstantiated.”

Archbishop Valerian Okeke distributing relief materials to the less privileged in a ceremony at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity Onitsha, Nigeria. / Archdiocese of Onitsha

“Without people, there would be no Church”: Nigerian Prelate over Care for Less Privileged

May 9, 2020

The need to care for the people of God in society amid COVID-19 restrictions is significant for the very existence of church because these people, including the less privileged, constitute the church institution, a Nigerian Archbishop has said.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Nigeria's Archdiocese of Abuja.

“Church cannot administer Sacraments by phone, modern technology”: Nigerian Archbishop

May 7, 2020

The Archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria, Ignatius Kaigama, has clarified despite restrictions on social and religious gatherings put in place as a COVID-19 measure, the Church cannot administer the Sacraments through modern technology “or by proxy.”

Nigerian seminarian Michael Nnadi. Courtesy photo.

Nigerian Seminarian Killed for "preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ” to His Captors

May 2, 2020

A man claiming to have killed the murdered Nigerian seminarian Michael Nnadi has given an interview in which he says he executed the aspiring priest because he would not stop announcing the Christian faith in captivity.

Fr Anselm Adodo, Founder Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories (Paxherbals) with some staff of the Nigeria-based Centre.

How a Nigeria-based Catholic Medical Centre is Responding to COVID-19 Search for Cure

May 2, 2020

As medical practitioners across the globe seek to understand the new coronavirus and engage in finding a cure, a Nigeria-based Catholic medical center that develops and promotes the use of “African medicine” is responding to this search by proposing a herbal drug as a possible cure for COVID-19.

Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke, pioneer Bishop of the Diocese of Ekwulobia in Nigeria installed Wednesday, April 29, 2020. / Diocese of Ekwolobia

“Grassroot evangelization will be a priority”: Nigerian Bishop at Installation

Apr 30, 2020

On the occasion of his episcopal installation, the pioneer Bishop of the newly erected diocese of Ekwulobia in southeastern Nigeria, Peter Ebere Okpaleke, has said that in his pastoral ministry, he will strive to emphasize evangelization at the local level, inviting the people of God to a “personal and intimate relationship with Jesus.”

Photos of the 3 suspects nabbed, and currently in Police custody in Nigeria.

Details of Kidnappers, Killers of Nigerian Seminarian Emerge as Police Intensify Search

Apr 27, 2020

Details of three people suspected to have participated in the kidnapping and the later killing of the 18-year-old Nigerian Seminarian have been given, the security agencies in Nigeria saying they have intensified their search for other members of the “deadly criminal gang.”

Archbishop Valerian Okeke of Onitsha, Nigeria.

Nigeria’s Onitsha Archdiocese “to slowly lift suspension” on Public Mass

Apr 27, 2020

In view of the envisaged easing of the COVID-19 lockdown imposed by Nigeria's Anambra State, home to the Metropolitan See of Onitsha, the Archbishop has announced the possibility of lifting the suspension of Public Mass, albeit slowly.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama distributing palliatives to vulnerable Nigerian citizens in order to cushion the effects of the Lockdown. / Archdiocese of Abuja

Nigerian Prelate Distributes COVID-19 Palliatives, Says It’s “social responsibility”

Apr 26, 2020

In the West Africa nation of Nigeria, an Archbishop has engaged in the distribution of palliatives to needy members of society and termed the initiative a “social responsibility of the Archdiocese.”

Michael Nnadi, seminarian killed at the end of January after he had been abducted alongside three others on January 8, 2020. His alleged abductors and killers have been arrested. / Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaduna, Nigeria

Kidnappers, Killers of 18-year-old Nigerian Seminarian Apprehended

Apr 25, 2020

Those who allegedly abducted and eventually killed the 18-year-old Nigerian Seminarian, Michael Nnadi are in the hands of police officers in Nigeria, a Church official has confirmed.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, who celebrates  the Silver Jubilee of his Episcopal Ordination on  April 23. / Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)

Cardinal Tagle Appreciates Nigerian Prelate’s “pastoral skills” on His Episcopal Jubilee

Apr 23, 2020

A Nigerian Archbishop’s “missionary spirit and pastoral skills” have been acknowledged with appreciation by the head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as the Prelate marks 25 years since he was ordained a Bishop.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Nigeria's Abuja Archdiocese.

COVID-19 “not powerful enough to infect or bury our faith”: Nigerian Prelate

Apr 20, 2020

As Catholics across the globe celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday against the backdrop of COVID-19 restrictions, a Church leader in Nigeria has encouraged the people of God in Africa’s most populous country not to despair but rather stand firm in their faith in God.

The Late Fr. Frank Caffrey, Irish Spiritan Priest who served in Kenya for decades after he had been expelled from Nigeria during the Biafran war. / Congregation of the Holy Spirit – Irish Province

Irish Spiritan Cleric Who Served in Kenya and Nigeria Buried after Succumbing to COVID-19

Apr 19, 2020

The Irish Spiritan Priest, Fr. Frank Caffrey, who served in Kenya for decades after he had been expelled from Nigeria during the Biafran war, was laid to rest in Ireland Saturday, April 18 after succumbing to COVID-19.

The Delegation from the Archdiocese of Lagos presenting donation to the wife of Lagos state governor Dr. (Mrs) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Saturday, April 18, 2020. / Lagos Archdiocese

Nigerian Archdiocese Responds to “cry of the people,” Donates to State amid COVID-19 Bite

Apr 19, 2020

The leadership of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos in Nigeria has moved in to support the State in providing for the people of God facing hardships after the government put in place restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19, a cleric in the Archdiocese has reported.

Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza addressing journalists during the Press Briefing in Yola.

A Nigerian Diocese Avails Pastoral Centre to the State as COVID-19 Isolation Facility

Apr 16, 2020

The Catholic Diocese of Yola in Nigeria has made available its Pastoral Center to the State of Adamawa to be used as a facility to isolate people who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Christ's Resurrection our Hope of Life

Church Leaders Across Africa Share Messages of Hope amid “silent Easter” Celebrations

Apr 15, 2020

Bishops in Africa have, individually and collectively, offered messages of hope to the people of God on the continent in their respective Easter messages amid “silent Easter” celebrations due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese with the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF), Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha during the Wednesday, April 8 audience in Abuja, Nigeria. / CBCN

Church in Nigeria Grants Government “full access to” All Catholic Health Facilities

Apr 9, 2020

In a move to boost Nigeria government’s efforts to contain COVID-19 in the country, Catholic Bishops in Africa’s most populous nation have granted their country’s task force overseeing the pandemic “full access to” all health facilities, which the Catholic Church owns, a Church official has reported.

Bishop Emmanuel Badejo blessing the oils during the Chrism Mass at  at Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral Oyo, April 7, 2020. / Oyo Diocese

"We are compelled to ask God to heal our world": Nigerian Bishop at Chrism Mass

Apr 8, 2020

The call for divine intervention to heal the world including the people of God affected by COVID-19, a pandemic that has occasioned unprecedented restrictions, is a key highlight of Bishop Emmanuel Badejo’s Chrism Mass message for the Priests in his diocese of Oyo, Nigeria.