Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calabar

4°57′00″N 8°19′30″E

Archdiocese of Calabar Archidioecesis Calabarensis
Location
Country	Nigeria
Territory	Portions of Cross River State
Ecclesiastical province	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calabar
Coordinates	4°57′00″N 8°19′30″E
Statistics
Population Total Catholics	1,136.555 228,914 (20%)
Parishes	50
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	As a diocese: 18 April 1950 Elevated to archdiocese: 26 March 1994
Cathedral	Sacred Heart Cathedral, Calabar
Co-cathedral	Saint Mary Pro-Cathedral, Calabar
Secular priests	67
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Archbishop	Most Rev. Joseph E. Ekuwem
Auxiliary Bishops	Christopher Naseri Naseri
Map
Calabar is in Cross River State which is shown in red

The Archdiocese of Calabar (Latin Archidioecesis Calabarensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. Its archepiscopal see is Calabar, Cross River State. The Archbishop of Calabar is metropolitan of an ecclesiastical province with four suffragan dioceses: the Dioceses of Ikot Ekpene, Ogoja, Port Harcourt, and Uyo.

History

• 1934.07.09: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Calabar from the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Nigeria
• 1947.06.12: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Calabar
• 1950.04.18: Promoted as Diocese of Calabar
• 1994.03.26: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calabar

Special churches

• Cathedral: Sacred Heart Cathedral in Calabar
• Pro-Cathedral: Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Calabar.

Bishops

• Prefect Apostolic of Calabar
  • Father James Moynagh, S.P.S. 1934.10.26 – 1947.06.12 see below
• Vicar Apostolic of Calabar (Roman rite)
  • Bishop James Moynagh, S.P.S. see above 1947.06.12 – 1950.04.18 see below
• Bishops of Calabar (Roman rite)
  • Bishop James Moynagh, S.P.S. see above 1950.04.18 – 1970.02.05
  • Bishop Brian David Usanga 1970.02.05 – 1994.03.26 see below
• Metropolitan Archbishops of Calabar (Roman rite)
  • Archbishop Brian David Usanga see above 1994.03.26 – 2003.12.17
  • Archbishop Joseph Edra Ukpo 2003.12.17 - 2013.02.02; Archbishop Emeritus; resignation accepted by Pope Benedict XVI^[1]
  • Archbishop Joseph Effiong Ekuwem 2013.02.02 - present; formerly, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Uyo

Auxiliary Bishops

• Dominic Ignatius Ekandem (1953-1963), appointed Bishop of Ikot Ekpene (Cardinal in 1976)
• Brian David Usanga (1966-1970), appointed Bishop here
• Christopher Naseri Naseri (2023-present), current Auxiliary Bishop.

Suffragan dioceses

• Diocese of Ikot Ekpene
• Diocese of Ogoja
• Diocese of Port Harcourt
• Diocese of Uyo

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Nigeria
• Roman Catholic churches in Port Harcourt