Catholics returning “in their thousands, not hundreds,” say bishops in Nigeria
Thousands of Catholics in northeast Nigeria have returned to church in defiance of fear, following more than 15 years of violent insurgencies.
Bishop John Bakeni and Bishop Oliver Doeme of the Diocese of Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that worshipers were coming back “in their thousands, not hundreds.”
Whuabazhi Pilgrimage Center – which ACN helped build – has seen record numbers attending. The bishops said: “People come back healed…it’s a huge center of empowerment for young people.”
Maiduguri is the birthplace of Boko Haram, an Islamist group that waged a brutal insurgency in the area since 2009, killing an estimated 20,000 people and displacing more than two million. In recent years, the jihadists have spread to other areas, which has led many displaced people to return.
Bishop Doeme said the situation in Maiduguri had “improved” compared to other parts of Nigeria. He added, “The faith of our people is unshakable. The number of Catholics we have in our diocese now is more than the number of Catholics we had before the Boko Haram crisis. We have a lot of weddings taking place; the number of children receiving Holy Communion has shot up; the number of children being baptized goes to 1,000. The difference is in thousands, not in the hundreds.”
Bishop Doeme told ACN, “When the crisis started in 2009, especially up to 2014, we experienced pronounced and organized attacks on our various Christian communities that led to the massive displacement of our people.” He said that more than 90,000 Catholics were displaced and more than 1,000 Catholics killed. Of 279 people who were kidnapped, including children, 100 have not come back.
He added, “Young men were forcibly conscripted into the Boko Haram army. Some have come back, but others are still with them.” He said more than 200 churches and 10 parishes were destroyed, as well as residential properties and clinics.
Throughout the insurgency, the bishops have not stopped going out to minister to the people. They continued to go out to villages and rural areas and give them sacraments.
Bishop Doeme said, “The situation has only served to strengthen the faith of our people. The moment the Church faces persecution, the people become more alive, their faith becomes more active. This is our experience.
Despite the gunshots, despite the bomb attacks, despite the series of attacks, the people have an unwavering faith which they demonstrated. You will find them going to masses for their sacraments. The priests have been very strong in faith and courageous.”
Bishop Bakeni told ACN: “We are experiencing a little bit of peace in our diocese, but in many parts of Nigeria, it’s unsecure, and we’re sleeping with our eyes open.” He said there was “a cloud of fear, anxiety, and insecurity hovering over our country,” adding, “Every day, Nigerians are being killed or abducted or kidnapped. This has become a reality. This underscores where we are as a nation in this moment.”
In this light, the bishop said the parishioners’ return to their diocese was “ironic.” “Ordinarily, when people are confronted with violence, the church should be less populated, but what we are seeing is the opposite. As bad as the persecution is, these are the testimonies we have. It’s the testimonies of faith and the faith which is tested.”
The bishop thanked ACN benefactors for their support over the years, which is helping people rebuild their lives. Bishop Bakeni said, “We remain indebted to you as a diocese, because without ACN, by now, the story of Maiduguri would be very different.”
– Nathalie Raffray
