Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)

Angola: Two New Dioceses Erected in, One in Nigeria

8 June 2007

Vatican — Pope Benedict XVI has erected the new dioceses of Viana and Caxito in Angola and Shendam in Nigeria.

Viana, hived off the Archdiocese of Luanda will be headed by Bishop Joaquim Ferreira Lopes O.F.M. Cap., until now the bishop of Dundo. The new see will serve about half a million Catholics.

The new Diocese of Caxito was also created out of the Archdiocese of Luanda. The pope appointed Fr. Antonio Francisco Jaca S.V.D., provincial superior of the Verbite Fathers in Angola, as the first Bishop of Caxito.

In Nigeria, the pope created the Diocese of Shendam out of the Archdiocese of Jos, bringing to 53 the number of Catholic dioceses in the West African nation.

The diocese will be headed by Bishop James Daman, OSA, who until his appointment was the bishop of Jalingo. Inauguration of the new diocese and installation of Bishop Daman, OSA, will be on July 28.

Tagged: Angola, Central Africa, Nigeria, Religion, Southern Africa, West Africa

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