Roman Catholic Diocese of Osogbo
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Diocese of Osogbo Dioecesis Osogboanus |
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|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| Territory | Osun State |
| Ecclesiastical province | Ibadan |
| Metropolitan | Archbishop of Ibadan |
| Coordinates | 7°46′00″N 4°34′00″E / 7.76667°N 4.56667°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 8,062 km2 (3,113 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 1,861,000 62,500 (3.4%) |
| Parishes | 42 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 3 March 1995 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Saint Benedict in Osogbo |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | John Akin Oyejola |
| Map | |
 Osogbo is located in Osun State which is shown here in red. |
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Osogbo (Latin: Osogboan(us)) is a diocese located in the city of Osogbo, Osun State in the Ecclesiastical province of Ibadan in Nigeria.
The Cathedral is Saint Benedict’s Cathedral in Osogbo.
Christian activities in Nigeria began in the first place around 1472 through the Portuguese Catholic traders around the Niger Delta area – Calabar, Bonny, and Warri kingdoms. A church was built in Benin and the son of Oba of Benin was baptized in 1574. In spite of their efforts,their mission failed because the traders were more interested in commerce than evangelization. These early Roman Catholic missionaries and traders were reported to get as far as Ile-Ife( a part of Catholic Osogbo Diocese territory) during the 15th century first attempt at evangelization of Nigeria.
According to Fabunmi (1970),it wasn’t until 1843 about three hundred years after Christianity had become extinct in Ile- Ife that the faith resurfaced in Nigeria again.Modupe Oduyoye(1969),traced the evangelisation of Yoruba land to Father Francisco Borghero,S.M.A, who landed in Lagos on 17 February 1862 from Quidah in Dahomey.It was reported that he met Brazilian Catholics on ground about 1,200 baptized Catholics in Lagos.They were emigrants from Brazil and Cuba after the emancipation of slaves in those areas,they were under the pastoralcare of priests from San Thome Island.While the presence of Catholicism in Nigeria predates Fr Borghero he nevertheless was the one who undertook the active evangelization of the hinterland.
From Oyo Diocese 1884 to 1995 Osogbo diocese. Patrick’O Neil (1971), claimed that ‘In the year 1884 two priests of the Society of African Missions (SMA),Fathers Jean- Baptiste Chausse and Theodore Holley travelled from Oyo to Ibadan with a view to opening a mission in the town".In 1942 Rome instructed the white fathers to take over part of SMA territory in Lagos which was then the Oyo prefecture excluding Ibadan. Rev. Fr Capt. Owen MCcoy then an army chaplain in Accra Ghana was appointed the superior of the white fathers to take over the new jurisdiction.He was joined on 8 December 1942 By Frs J. Byrne, J. Williams, T. Kane, and D. Smith who arrived from England.Fr Byrne was appointed to Osogbo under Father Mc McCarthy,S.M.A and Father Coffey to Murumba in Ife.
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