Country Nigeria Established 13 January 2014 | Denomination Maronite Church | |
Metropolitan Immediately subject to the Holy See Rite West Syro-Antiochene Rite Cathedral Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral | ||
Maronite Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of West and Central Africa (in Latin: Exarchatus Apostolicus Africae Centralis et Occidentalis) is an Apostolic Exarchate of the Maronite Church immediately subject to the Holy See located in Nigeria. It is currently ruled by Apostolic Exarch Simon Faddoul.
Contents
Territory and statistics
The Maronite Apostolic Exarchate extends its jurisdiction over the Maronite faithful living in West and Central Africa. Its exarchial seat is the city of Ibadan in Nigeria, where is located the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral.
History
The Maronite Apostolic Exarchate was erected by Pope Francis on 13 January 2014 with the papal bull Patrimonium ecclesiarum. Excepting eparchies of the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church, this is the first ecclesiastical circumscription of an Eastern Catholic Church established in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Its first Apostolic Exarch, without episcopal character, is Simon Faddoul, former president of Caritas of Lebanon, also appointed apostolic visitor to the Maronite faithful residents in Southern Africa.