ABOUT US

The Augustinian Order has come a long way in Nigeria; its current status as a Province is a testament to this fact. However, although it has attained now this position (a Province), it is important to note that the early Augustinians whose work led to this achievement never (at the beginning) envisaged that such will happen. This is because at the time they set out for Nigeria, their sole goal was to evangelize, i.e., to plant the Catholic-Christian faith in their host communities and environs. Notwithstanding, it amusingly turned out that they did not only succeed in planting the faith, they also the domesticated Order in Nigeria.

Pioneer Augustinian ancestors of the Nigerian Province were dispatched by the Irish Province of the Order, and came into the country in 1938. Historically, at the Chapter of the Irish Province in 1936, friars of the Province decided to “ask the Holy See to assign them a mission territory either in East or West Africa”. In response to the request, the Holy See gave them the task of evangelizing the then Adamawa Province of Nigeria.

In keeping with the task of evangelizing their newly allotted territory, the Irish Province sent many Augustinians who worked in different parts of North-Eastern Nigeria and established many Churches that now make up the dioceses of Maiduguri, Yola and Jalingo. The first group of missionaries appointed to Nigeria were Frs. Denis Redmond, Patrick Dalton and Thomas Broder, OSA these arrived Nigeria on 2nd November, 1938. They were later joined in the same year by Fr. John B. Power, OSA.

After the four pioneer Augustinian missionaries above, more and more missionaries were sent to join the ever-increasing and widening mission field. As the number of Augustinians kept rising, the Irish Province began conceiving the idea of creating a corporate unit for all the Irish Augustinians in Nigeria, this among other reasons was in order to curb the difficulties that came with subjecting those on mission to a “distant [governing body] in Europe”. This marked the beginning of what is now the Province of Nigeria.

Following a lot of deliberations and considerations by the Irish missionaries in Nigeria, and the rest of the members of the Irish Province back at home regarding establishing a corporate unit of the Order in the mission area (Nigeria), a Vice Province of the Augustinian Order was created in Nigeria in 1977. And, after many years of hard work and growth, the Vice Province became a full-fledged Province on 27th November, 2001. Since becoming a Province, numbers of Augustinian Houses and friars in Solemn Vows have risen persistently; at present, the Province is blessed with 28 Houses within the borders of Nigeria alone.

Concerning leadership, Rev. Patrick Akinrimisi, OSA was the first Prior Provincial of the Province of Nigeria. Since the expiration of his period of leadership (in 2005), Rev. Frs. John Niriyring (2005-2008) (Now Bishop of Kano Diocese), Hyacinth Kangyep (2008-2012) and John Abubakar (2012-2020), OSA have served the Province as Priors Provincial. Currently, the Province is led by Rev. Fr. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, OSA.

North-Eastern Nigeria and established many Churches that now make up the dioceses of Maiduguri, Yola and Jalingo. The first group of missionaries appointed to Nigeria were Frs. Denis Redmond, Patrick Dalton and Thomas Broder, OSA these arrived Nigeria on 2nd November, 1938. They were later joined in the same year by Fr. John B. Power, OSA.

After the four pioneer Augustinian missionaries above, more and more missionaries were sent to join the ever-increasing and widening mission field. As the number of Augustinians kept rising, the Irish Province began conceiving the idea of creating a corporate unit for all the Irish Augustinians in Nigeria, this among other reasons was in order to curb the difficulties that came with subjecting those on mission to a “distant [governing body] in Europe”. This marked the beginning of what is now the Province of Nigeria.

Following a lot of deliberations and considerations by the Irish missionaries in Nigeria, and the rest of the members of the Irish Province back at home regarding establishing a corporate unit of the Order in the mission area (Nigeria), a Vice Province of the Augustinian Order was created in Nigeria in 1977. And, after many years of hard work and growth, the Vice Province became a full-fledged Province on 27th November, 2001. Since becoming a Province, numbers of Augustinian Houses and friars in Solemn Vows have risen persistently; at present, the Province is blessed with 28 Houses within the borders of Nigeria alone.

Concerning leadership, Rev. Patrick Akinrimisi, OSA was the first Prior Provincial of the Province of Nigeria. Since the expiration of his period of leadership (in 2005), Rev. Frs. John Niriyring (2005-2008) (Now Bishop of Kano Diocese), Hyacinth Kangyep (2008-2012) and John Abubakar (2012-2020), OSA have served the Province as Priors Provincial. Currently, the Province is led by Rev. Fr. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, OSA.

 APOSTOLATE

The Province of Nigeria has two Major apostolates:

  1. Parochial
  2. Educational

PARISH APOSTOLATE

We are pastorally involved in various dioceses of the Church in Nigeria and beyond. We serve the people of God through the witness of friendship and brotherhood in community life.

The Following are some the parishes of our pastoral engagement: 

1. MARARABA NEAR ABUJA:  St. John of the Cross Parish, Nasarawa State (Founded: 1996-01-01)

2. BENIN CITY: St. Augustine’s Parish, Edo State (Founded: 1977-12-31)

3. BIDA: Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Niger State (Founded: 2011-12-31)

4. IBUSA: St. Augustine’s Parish, Delta State (Founded: 1989-12-31)

5. IWARO OKA – AKOKO: Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Ondo State (Founded: 1966-12-31)

6. JOS St. Monica’s Parish, Plateau State (Founded: 1989-12-31)

7. KADUNA: St. Monica’s Parish, Kaduna State (Founded: 1988-12-31)

8. KANO, St. Rita’s Parish, Kano State (Founded: 1998-01-01)

9. LAGOS, St. Vincent’s Parish, Lagos State (Founded: 2010-11-01)

10. MAIDUGURI: St. Augustine’s Parish, Borno State (Founded: 1987-12-31)

11. MAKURDI: Saint Francis Parish, Benue State (Founded: 2013-06-01)

12. OGHAREFE All Saints Parish, Delta State (Founded: 2011-12-31)

13. SURULERE Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Lagos State (Founded: 1987-12-31)

14. WARRI St. Cyprian Parish, Lagos State (Founded: 1999-12-31)

15. YOLA St. Augustine’s Parish, Plateau State (Founded: 1981-12-31)

16. ZING: St. Thomas’ Parish, State (Founded: 1999-03-06)

17. JOS: St. Rita’s Pastoral Area, Plateau State (Founded: 2016-12-05)

 

MISSION ABROAD

Here are some parishes beyond the shores of Nigeria wherein some of our friars are currently working:

  1. St Monica’s Catholic Church, 55 Fulham Palace Road, Hoxton, London, United Kingdom
  2. Parrochia Sant’ Aurea, Piazza della Rocca 13, Ostia Antica, 00119 Roma, Italia
  3. Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Kloof, Durban, South Africa
  4. St Joseph Catholic Church, Kpatalokoli, Bohicon, Republic of Benin

Education

Our Province in heavily involved in the sphere of education in Nigeria. Below are some of the schools run by us:

1. St Augustine’s College New Karu, Nasarawa State.
2. St Augustine’s College DU, Plateau State.
3. St Augustine’s College Oghara, Delta State.
  1. Augustine’s College Kujama, Kaduna State.
5. Augustinian Institute of Philosophy, Makurdi, Benue State.
  1. Monica’s Academy/College Rantya, Plateau State.

The Order of St Augustine is traced to the life and writings of St Augustine, the renowned Bishop of Hippo (354-430), who graced the Church in North Africa in a time of strife and division. Son of Patricius and Monica, he was born in the village of Tagaste on the border of present-day Algeria and Tunisia and, sapart from some years in Italy – where he became a disciple of St. Ambrose and surrendered to the grace of the Gospel – he spent all his life in that region. It was there too that he wrote a simple Rule of Life for his followers, men and women, and this has constituted their ID card throughout the course of Christian history.

The Order, as we know it today, took shape through an amalgamation of many autonomous groups who based their lives on that Rule. They were brought together, as an apostolic fraternity, through the Great Unions of 1244 and 1256 and since then they have served the needs of the Church in small communities according to the demands of the time and the directives of the Gospel and their Rule of Life. Missionary work is one such directive and it is not surprising to learn that Augustinian missionaries were involved in the early evangelization of both east and west Africa.

Augustinian missionaries were again to the fore in the revived missionary impetus of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries which reached out to Africa. They were, in fact, the first of the old religious orders in the Church to come to Nigeria, in the year 1938. The Irish Province of the Order had been entrusted with the evangelisation of Adamawa Province, which then formed part of the Prefecture of Jos. The first three priests came to Jos, however, not in order to establish a branch of the Augustinian Order. They came, in answer to the call of successive popes, to establish the Church in an area where it did not exist, in the present Adamawa, Borno and Taraba states. Their work led to the erection of the Prefectures of Yola (1950) and Maiduguri (1953), and to the dioceses of Yola in 1962 and Maiduguri in 1966.
This area remained the focus of Augustinian endeavours until 1967, when the Irish Province was asked to establish and staff a major seminary in Jos. It was a time of crisis in the country and, in particular, for the young indigenous Church in the north. The establishment of St. Augustine’s Major Seminary is probably the single most important factor in the extraordinary growth of the Church there over the past 30 years.

 

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