Roman Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan

Roman Catholic diocese in Nigeria

9°35′00″N 8°18′00″E / 9.58333°N 8.30000°E / 9.58333; 8.30000StatisticsArea11,340 km² (4,380 sq mi)Population
- Total
- Catholics(as of 2004)
1,080,247
250,000 (23.1%)InformationDenominationRoman CatholicRiteLatin RiteEstablishedJuly 10, 1995CathedralSaint Peter Claver Cathedral in KafanchanCurrent leadershipPopeFrancisBishopJulius Yakubu KundiMap

The Diocese of Kafanchan is located in the southern portion of Kaduna State which is shown here in red.Websitewww.CatholicDioceseofKafanchan

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan (Latin: Kafancan(us)) is a diocese located in the city of Kafanchan in the ecclesiastical province of Kaduna in Nigeria.

History

July 10, 1995: Established as Diocese of Kafanchan from Metropolitan Archdiocese of Jos and Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaduna

Special churches

The Cathedral is St Peter Claver's Cathedral in Kafanchan.

Leadership

Bishops of Kafanchan (Roman rite)
- Bishop Joseph Danlami Bagobiri (1995-2018)
- Bishop Julius Kundi (2019- )

Persecution and insecurity

Due to its location, the Diocese of Kafanchan has been subjected to cases of persecution or violence committed against its faithful and members of the clergy. In 2022 a priest was murdered following a kidnapping. Fr Mark Cheitnum was the communications director for the diocese and was kidnapped along with Fr Donatus Cleopas. According to Cleopas, who managed to later escape his abductors, Fr Mark was finding it difficult to keep up with the group as they were being taken into the bush, and was shot dead by his kidnappers.^[1]

Two more priests from Kafanchan diocese were kidnapped in 2022. Fr Emmanuel Silas and Fr Joseph Shekari were both eventually released.

On 7 September 2023, suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked and set fire to the rectory of St. Raphael Parish. The parish priest and his assistant were able to escape, but a seminarian, Na'aman Danlami, who was staying with them was burned to death.^[2]

References

^ ACN (2022-07-21). "Another priest killed in Nigeria". ACN International. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
^ ACN (2023-09-08). "A seminarian brutally murdered and another kidnapped in Nigeria". ACN International. Retrieved 2023-10-25.