Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri

For the Diocese of Owerri in the Church of Nigeria, see Anglican Province of Owerri.

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 km². 670,986 of the 1.7 million people in the area are member of the Catholic Church.

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
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

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

Auxiliary bishop

• Moses Chikwe (2019-)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

• Augustine Ndubueze Echema, appointed Bishop of Aba in 2019

Suffragan Dioceses

• Aba
• Ahiara
• Okigwe
• Orlu
• Umuahia

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Nigeria

External links

• Official website of the Archdiocese of Owerri, Nigeria
• Catholic Hierarchy
• Diocese information at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria Archived 2016-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
• GCatholic.org Information
• Seat of Wisdom Seminary
• Seat of Wisdom Seminary Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine