The Catholic Diocese of Lafia, Nasarawa State has celebrated 25 years of its establishment by the then Holy Father, Pope John Paul 11.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Pope, on Dec. 5, 2000, proclaimed Lafia a Diocese and appointed Most Rev. Matthew Ishaya-Audu as its pioneer bishop.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the commencement of activities for the celebrations on Friday in Lafia, David Ajang, Bishop of the diocese, said it was indeed a significant spiritual milestone to win more souls for God in the last 25 years.
The Bishop reflected on the diocese’s journey, highlighting its growth from seven priests including the Bishop, a Deacon, to 95 priests, 12 Fidei Donum priests, 20 missionary priests, 78 religious sisters, 36 major seminarians and 128 catechists.
“The diocese took off with two deaneries, 13 parishes, but we now have seven deaneries, 58 parishes/quasi-parishes, five chaplaincies, 5 male and 14 female religious congregations. and 31 functional lay associations.
“We took off with 10 nursery/primary schools and three secondary schools, but we now have 42 nursery/primary schools and 16 secondary schools respectively.
“Statistics have shown that the population of lay Catholics at the creation of the Diocese stood at 175, 671, but as at present the population is approximately 330,135 members,” Ajang added.
He further explained that the diocese has four functional medical facilities across various parts of the state attend to the health needs of the people.
The Bishop, however, narrated some of the challenges confronting the diocese, include the inability of the government to return some of its schools to the church and appealed to the government to consider handing the schools back to the church.
The silver jubilee celebration, which began on December 5, 2025, will culminate on November 27, 2026, with various events, including a pilgrimage, symposium, and thanksgiving Mass.
The Bishop therefore, expressed gratitude to God, priests, religious, and laity for their contributions to the diocese’s growth, appealing to spirited individuals to support the jubilee celebration. (NAN).