The Catholic Bishop of Ekwulobia Diocese (CADEK), Southeast Nigeria, His Eminence Peter Ebere Cardinal Okpaleke has announced the appointment of four priests as Episcopal Vicars for the various regions, in addition to the creation of four parishes.
The prince of the Church made the appointment during the second Plenary Meeting of the diocese, which was held on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at the underground hall of St. Joseph Cathedral.
New Episcopal Vicars Appointed
The newly appointed Episcopal Vicars presented to the Presbyterium at the meeting chaired by the Bishop of the Diocese include Rev. Fr. Jude Mbanefo — Achina Region, Rev. Fr. Theodore Ekwem — Akpu Region, Rev. Fr. Charles Umeoji — Igboukwu Region, and Rev. Fr. John Umeojiakor — Ekwulobia Region.
Meanwhile, Advocatus Africa gathered that Cardinal Okpaleke’s address which had the theme, “Who do people say I am? … Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:13, 15) highlighted three pastoral areas for reflection, which guided discussions during the 2026/2027 Pastoral Year: circumspection, deep listening, and ongoing assessment of events and processes.
The 2nd Plenary Meeting in session. Credit: CADEK.
Four New Parishes Created
The Bishop also created four new parishes in the Diocese, which include St. Jerome Parish, Ndiokpaleze, carved out from St. Paul Parish, Ogboji, with Rev. Fr. Johnbosco Amaogu appointed as the pioneer Parish Priest, and St. Peter Parish, Igboukwu, carved out from St. Martin Parish, Igboukwu, with Rev. Fr. Damian Okeke appointed as the pioneer Parish Priest.
The next two parishes include St. Paulinus Parish, Oraeri, carved out from St. Mary Parish, Oraeri, with Rev. Fr. Fredrick Mary Nwafor appointed as the pioneer Parish Priest, and St. Benedict Parish, Oraeri, carved out from St. Mary Parish, Oraeri, with Rev. Fr. Patrick Chimezie Okeke appointed as the pioneer Parish Priest.
Also appointed were Rev. Fr. Theodore as the new Rector of St. Dominic Savio Seminary, Akpu, and Rev. Fr. Kizito Umennadi as a full-time Director of Maranatha Multimedia – CADEK.
While Rev. Fr. Francis Ude was appointed the new Education Secretary of the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia, Rev. Fr. Matthew Onyejimbe will serve as the Director of the Justice, Development, Peace and Caritas Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia (JDPC-CADEK).
The Bishop used the occasion to congratulate all the appointees while expressing hope that “the establishment of the new parishes would promote grassroots evangelization and foster growth in faith, hope and love among the people.”
Priests of the CADEK during the Plenary Meeting. Credit: CADEK.
Conclusion
Aside from featuring the pastoral placement of priests for the 2026/2027 Pastoral Year across the Diocese, CADEK noted that the “meeting provided an opportunity for the Bishop and the priests of the Diocese to reflect on the pastoral direction of the local Church, assess ongoing processes and prepare for the new pastoral year in the spirit of attentive listening, prudent discernment and renewed commitment to the mission of evangelization.”
The high point of the event was the presentation of the decree formally establishing the new parishes.
CADEK was created on March 5, 2020 by Pope Francis out of the Catholic Diocese of Akwa and formally inaugurated with the installation of its pioneer Bishop on April 29, 2020 at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Ekwulobia.
Home to over 600,000 Catholics out of a population of about one million people in the region with at least 550 priests and about 300 religious, the suffragan of the Archdiocese of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Onitsha has around 100 parishes that are structured into four primary pastoral regions which include Ekwulobia, Akpu, Achina and Igboukwu.
