Catholicism was introduced in the territory that would come to be known as Nigeria by Portuguese explorers in the late 15th century. Though their missionary efforts were largely unsuccessful and Catholicism virtually disappeared by the 17th century.
Modern Catholic missions were established by priests from the Society of African Missions of Lyon in 1865, beginning in Lagos, and a vicariate was established in Benin in 1870. By 1920, numerous missions had appeared throughout Igboland, eventually outnumbering Anglican Church Missionary Society missions.
Holy Ghost priests and priests from the St. Patrick’s Society arrived in 1932. In 1950, the first archdiocese of Kaduna, Lagos, and Onitsha were established. The world’s largest Catholic seminary is located is Bigard Memorial in Enugu in southeastern.
There was sporadic growth of Catholicism in Nigeria, particularly in the eastern part (especially among the Igbo ethnic group) which accounts for over 70 percent of the country’s Catholic population.
Source: Captivating History
In 2005, there were an estimated 19 million baptized Catholics in Nigeria. In 2010 the Catholic population accounted for approximately 12.6% of the country’s population.
OTHER BRANCH OF THE CHURCH
Catholic schools grew increasingly popular; while Protestant mission schools taught in local languages, Catholic schools promoted English, which was regarded as a means of advancement in colonial society by the Igbo.
Catholic missionaries also reached potential converts in the provision of medical care. In 1957, the Eastern Region saw the introduction of universal primary education, which was intended to secularize education and to limit the influence of private organizations, such as the Catholic Church.
Catholics protested, viewing the move as evidence of discrimination against the Church and eventually exceptions were made allowing the schools to remain in operation. However, under the 1970 Public Education Edict no. 2, the East Central State assumed control over all private schools following the civil war centered in Biafra.
THE CHURCH INVOLVEMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR
The Catholic Church in Nigeria became deeply involved in the civil war between the Biafran Igbo and the Nigerian Federal forces from 1967 to 1970.
Triggered by a series of attacks on Igbo communities in the north and an Igbo-led failed military coup, the civil war was, for the Biafran Igbo, a holy war in which the Biafran Igbo imagined themselves as a vanguard against Islam.
Over half of the Catholic missions in Nigeria were located in the eastern region, and the few Protestant missions there tended to work outside of Igbo communities. Catholic missions, including the Irish Holy Ghost Fathers and the Holy Rosary Sisters followed their Igbo congregations into Biafran territory as the Federal forces encircled them.
They provided news of the immense suffering wrought by the civil war to outside media, and helped garner support for the Biafrans from the international Christian community—so much so that they were criticized for prolonging a hopeless cause by encouraging relief aid and giving hope to the Biafrans.
In 1968 a Vatican mission visited Biafra, and personally spoke out on behalf of the Biafran Igbo. Missionaries who supported the Biafran Igbo were expelled. Following the war, an estimate of over 500 foreign priest were not permitted to work in Nigeria until the mid-1970s.
DOGMAS AND DOCTRINE
The Roman Catholic Church in its indoctrination of baptism still asks that the parents and godparents of infants to be baptized recite the Apostles’ Creed as a sign that they accept the basic doctrines of the church and will help their children grow in the Catholic faith.
The creed proclaims belief in the Holy Trinity; the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ; the Second Coming and Last Judgment of Christ; the remission of sins; the church; and eternal life.
The doctrine of apostolic succession is one of the keystones of the Catholic faith; it holds that the pope (the Vicar of Christ) and the bishops have in varying degrees the spiritual authority Jesus assigned to his apostles.
The voice of the pope, either alone or in conjunction with his bishops in council, is regarded as infallible when speaking on matters of faith and morals taught in common with the bishops.
EVANGELISM AND OUTREACH
In recent years the Catholic Church has seen massive growth in Nigeria, where parishioners are attracted by schools, medical services, and social services that the state has failed to provide with quality and consistency.
In 2005, there were an estimated 19 million baptized Catholics in Nigeria. In 2010 the Catholic population accounted for approximately 12.6% of the population.
As seminarians dwindle in North America and Europe, Nigerian and other West African priests serve parishes far from home (one in five American priests is foreign-born). At the same time, churches in North America and Europe provide outreach to Nigerian parishioners, often led by Nigerian priests.
For example, the Igbo Catholic Foundation at San Francisco’s Sacred Heart Parish provides a Catholic context in which Igbo immigrants can connect with, learn about, and celebrate their culture.
LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH
The Catholic Church in Nigeria is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
The present president of the CBCN is Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop of Owerri, who was preceded by the Archbishop of Benin city Catholic Diocese, Augustine Obiora Akubeze.
Pope Paul VI visited Nigeria for the first time in 1962. The second papal visit to the country in 1998 witnessed the beatification of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him blessed at Oba, Onitsha Archdiocese, a local Church established by the apostle of eastern Nigerian, Bishop Joseph Shanahan.
