Diocese of Lira
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lira is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in the city of Lira in the ecclesiastical province of Gulu in Uganda. The diocese serves the Lango sub-region in northern Uganda and encompasses eight civil districts covering an area of 12,030 square kilometers.
History
Establishment
The Diocese of Lira was established on July 12, 1968, when Pope Paul VI detached the Lango District from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gulu and erected it as a separate ecclesiastical territory.The new diocese was placed under the metropolitan jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Gulu, which had been elevated to archiepiscopal status earlier.
Formation of Gulu Ecclesiastical Province
The Diocese of Lira became part of the newly created Gulu Ecclesiastical Province when Pope John Paul II elevated the Diocese of Gulu to the status of Metropolitan Archdiocese on January 30, 1999. This reorganization created the Ecclesiastical Province of Gulu with three suffragan dioceses, including Lira, under the metropolitan authority of the Archbishop of Gulu.Territory
The Diocese of Lira covers a vast territory of 12,030 square kilometers in northern Uganda, encompassing the entire Lango sub-region. The diocese includes eight civil districts: Lira District, Apac District, Oyam District, Dokolo District, Amolatar District, Kole District, Alebtong District, and Otuke District.Parishes
As of 2023, the Diocese of Lira comprises 27 parishes spread across its eight districts. The diocese has been actively creating new parishes to better serve the growing Catholic population, with recent establishments including St. Peter Clever Ober Parish and St. Mary Immaculate Conception Parish Loro in 2021.The cathedral of the diocese is the Uganda Martyrs Cathedral in Lira, established in 1964 and serving as the mother church of the diocese.