Archdiocese of Owerri
Overrien(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Owerri, Nigeria
The Archdiocese of Owerri is the metropolitan see for Imo State, Nigeria, established as a diocese in 1950 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1994. Its current archbishop is Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, appointed in 2022, and its suffragan dioceses include Aba, Ahiara, Okigwe, Orlu, and Umuahia.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 26 March 1994
- Latin
- Overrien(sis)
- Annuario code
- 001002502
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,079,950
- Population
- 1,555,338
- Catholic share
- 69.4%
- Priests
- 396
- Catholics per priest
- 2,727
- Extent
- 2,996 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 360
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji
- Born
- 13 January 1952
- Birthplace
- Naze
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri stands in Owerri, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Owerri
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of AbaAba
- Diocese of AhiaraAhiara
- Diocese of OkigweOkigwe
- Diocese of OrluOrlu
- Diocese of UmuahiaUmuahia
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
In Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, the Catholic Church maintains the Latin Archdiocese of Owerri (Latin: Archidioecesis Overriensis). The city is also home to the Seat of Wisdom Seminary.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].