By Fr. Anthony Adetayo

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Lagos Ecclesiastical Province successfully started and concluded its plenary session on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland Ikeja, Lagos. The conference, which started at 10:00 am, brought together esteemed dignitaries, including Metropolitan of Lagos Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese; Most Rev. Peter Kayode Odetoyinbo and Bishop of Ijebu-Ode Diocese; Most Rev. Francis Obafemi Adesina. Anhtony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie; Archbisop Emeritus of Lagos was in attendance briefly. Also in attendance was Msgr. John K. Aniagwu and Provincial heads of all sodalities and Associations. The general attendance was well over 120 persons.

Key Highlights from the Conference

– Laity Council Report: The Laity council presented a report on the previous year’s activities, highlighting their accomplishments and challenges.

– Church and Society Report: The Church and Society department reported on their activities, emphasizing their efforts to address gender-based violence and calling for the establishment of a provincial unit to care for migrants and refugees.

– Vocations Rallies: The Association of Consecrated Persons reported on their successful vocations rallies across the province, aimed at attracting young men and women to religious life.

– New Priestly Appointments: The NCDPA announced the addition of 17 new diocesan incardinated priests to the province. They also noted that the tenure of the present executive members elapses this year.

– Social Communications: The Social Communications department reported on their activities and how they have helped to drive evangelization effort, highlighting their challenges, including financial difficulties and high newspaper production costs.

– Papal Knights and KSM Report: The Association of Papal Knights, Medalists, KSM, and KSJI made reports, with the Papal Knights seeking more members and KSM establishing more sub-councils as membership increases.

Honorable Mrs. Elizabeth Sonubi of Ijebu-Ode Diocese was presented and accepted by the Bishops of he Province as the National President of CWON.

The conference concluded with the Archbishop and Bishops of the Province expressing their appreciation to all attendees and calling for increased participation from chaplains across the Province in future events. Everyone was happy to be in attendance and hope for a fruitful year for implementation.