Catholic Church in Nigeria


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.
As of 2025, the president of the CBCN is Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese. He followed on from the previous president, Augustine Obiora Akubeze.

Overview

The Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches comprise the world's largest Christian Church and the largest religious grouping globally. In 2005, there were an estimated 19 million baptised Catholics in Nigeria. In 2010, the Catholic population accounted for approximately 12.6% of the population, 70% of which can be found in Southeast Nigeria.
Historically, the Holy Ghost Fathers maintained a strong presence in Igboland in today's South-eastern Nigeria, whereas the White Fathers operated in Western and Northern Nigeria, and the Society of African Missions in Lagos.
Nigeria, together with the Congo-Kinshasa, boasts of the highest number of priests in Africa. The boom in vocation to the priesthood in Nigeria is mainly in the South-eastern part, especially among the Igbo ethnic group, of which the first evangelizers were Holy Ghost Fathers.
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, CSSp.
The official patron saints of Nigeria are Mary, Queen of Nigeria, and Patrick of Ireland.

Demographics

Christianity was followed by an estimated 46.18% of the Nigerian population in 2020; one-quarter of Christians in Nigeria are Catholic.
In the same year, over 9,500 priests and 6,500 nuns served over 4,000 parishes.

List of dioceses

Within Nigeria the hierarchy consists of:
Immediately subject to the Holy See:
  • Maronite Catholic Eparchy of the Annunciation

    Episcopal conference

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria is the Nigerian episcopal conference. Its current President is Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji.

Catholic traditionalism

A more traditionalist subset of the Catholic Church is also present in Nigeria and embodied by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. There also exists a community of the irregular status Society of St. Pius X.

Catholic universities in Nigeria

*
*
*
*
  • St. Augustine's Major Seminary, Jos
*
  • Blessed Tansi Major Seminary Onitsha, Anambra State
  • St Albert The Great Major Seminary Abeokuta
  • St. John of the Cross Spiritual Year Seminary, Ekpoma
  • Seat of Wisdom Major Seminary, Owerri
  • Seat of Wisdom Major Seminary, Umuahia Campus
  • JohnPaul II Major Seminary, Awka
  • Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaduna
  • Claretian Institute of Philosophy, Nekede Owerri
  • Spiritan Institute of Theology Attakwu Enugu
  • Spiritan Institute of Philosophy, Isienu Nsukka
  • Don Bosco Institute of Philosophy Affiliated to Salesian Pontifical University
  • Dominican Institute

    Minor seminaries in Nigeria

  • St Augustine's seminary, Amechi Ezzamgbo, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State
  • Holy Ghost Juniorate Seminary, Ihiala, Anambra State.
  • Queen of Apostles Seminary, Afaha Obong, Abak, Akwa Ibom State
  • Immaculate Conception Seminary, Mfamosing, Cross River State
  • St John Vianney Minor Seminary, Barkin-Ladi, Plateau State
  • St James' Junior Seminary, Yandev Gboko
  • St Jude's Minor Seminary, Kuje Abuja
  • St Theresa's Minor Seminary Oke-Are Ibadan
  • Sacred Hearts Minor Seminary Akure
  • St Clement's Minor Seminary, Adankolo-Lokoja, Kogi State
  • St Paul's Seminary Ukpor, Nnewi Anambra State
  • All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha Anambra State
  • St Joseph's Seminary Special Science School, Awka-Etiti Anambra State.
  • Mercy Seminary, Bende Abia State
  • Immaculate Conception Seminary, Ahiaeke Umuahia, Abia State
  • St Dominic Savio Seminary, Akpu, Anambra State
  • St John Bosco Seminary, Isuaniocha, Anambra State
  • Holy Martyrs of Uganda seminary Effurun, Delta State
  • Annunciation Seminary Amaudara, Abia State
  • St John-cross minor seminary, Isienu-Nsukka, Enugu state
  • St Charles Borromeo seminary, Imiringi, Bayelsa State.
  • St Mary's Seminary Umuowa, Orlu, Imo State.
  • Bonus Pastor Seminary Osina, Ideato North, Imo State.
  • Assumpta Minor Seminary, Owerri Archdiocese.
  • Mater Ecclesiae Seminary, Nguru Mbaise, Ahiara Diocese
  • St Peter Claver's Seminary Okpala Owerri Archdiocese
  • Pope John Paul II Seminary Yala Okpoma Ogoja Diocese
  • St Peter's Seminary Ogii, Okigwe Diocese
  • Sacred Heart Seminary, Rumuebiekwe Port Hacourt, Port hacourt Diocese
  • St Felix Seminary Ejeme-Anigor, Delta State
  • St Joseph Seminary Basawa, Zaria, Kaduna State.
  • St Charles Borromeo Minor Seminary, Madakiya Kaduna State
  • St Peter's Minor Seminary, Katari Kaduna State
  • St Peter's Minor Seminary, Yola Adamawa State
  • St Joseph's Minor Seminary, Shuwa Adamawa State
  • Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Jauro Yinu Taraba State
  • St Paul Minor Seminary, Benin City, Edo State

    Nigerians who have been canonized or beatified

  • Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, from Anambra State, beatified by Pope John Paul II, 22 March 1998

    Catholic religious congregations founded in Nigeria

  • Daughters of Divine Love
*
*
  • Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy Congregation, founded in 1961.
  • Holy Family Fathers and Brothers of the Youth, established in 2003.
  • Holy Family Sisters of the Needy
*
  • Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Ikeja, Lagos-State.
  • Sisters of Jesus Crucified, Uratta, Owerri, Imo State
  • Missionary sister of Jesus and Mary, Warri

    Missionary societies active in Nigeria

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

  • Persecution

Catholic Church in Nigeria faces severe persecution. According to the CBCN, at least 145 priests have been kidnapped, 11 have been murdered, and four remain missing between 2015 and 2025. Report by the NGO International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law stated that at least 15 priests were kidnapped between January and August 2025 by Fulani, Boko Haram and other forces. The phenomenon, according to the report, is due to a combination of attacks by jihadist groups and organized criminal gangs operating for profit, with priests being victims of both violent ambushes and financial extortion.
In Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency aims to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria. University of Johannesburg law professor Werner Nicolaas Nel has noted that this has resulted in the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. There has been a tendency of "mischaracterisation of the situation as civil conflict". The number of Nigerian Christians killed for their identification as Christians accounts for 70% of those being killed for their faith worldwide. The academic Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development published a paper in 2020 that noted that since 2015, over 12,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria. Christian human rights organisations, such as Global Christian Relief have provided higher figures, such as documenting in 2023 that 52,250 Christians were murdered for their faith in the previous fourteen years. In 2025, this garnered international attention with United States president Donald Trump vowing military action in Nigeria if the attacks against Christians did not subside; on Christmas Day 2025, the United States targeted ISIS cells in Nigeria.
In November 2025 the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria issued a statement saying that "it is a matter of grave concern that several predominantly Christian communities, particularly in the Northern and middle belt regions of the country, have come under repeated and brutal attacks, resulting in heavy casualties and the tragic loss of many Christian lives" and adding that "Such prolonged unbearable conditions have given credence to allegations of ‘genocide’ in some quarters. Yet, mindful of the sacred dignity and inestimable worth of every human life, we are equally deeply concerned that Muslims and many other innocent citizens of diverse ethnic backgrounds have also been victims of this same cruelty that continues to desecrate our common humanity."