Catholic churches in north-east Nigeria are witnessing a surge in worshippers, with bishops reporting that the faithful are returning “in their thousands, not hundreds” despite more than a decade of brutal violence.
Bishop Oliver Doeme and Bishop John Bakeni of Maiduguri Diocese in Borno State told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that congregations have grown beyond pre-insurgency levels, even after years of displacement, killings and destruction.
Maiduguri was the birthplace of Boko Haram, whose campaign of terror since 2009 has left an estimated 20,000 people dead and forced more than two million from their homes.
According to Bishop Doeme, during the height of the violence, over 90,000 Catholics were forced to flee the diocese and over a thousand were killed. In addition, over 210 churches were destroyed.
Yet today, the bishops say, the picture is markedly different.
“The faith of our people is unshakeable,” Bishop Doeme told ACN. “The number of Catholics we have in our diocese now is more than the number of Catholics we had before the Boko Haram crisis.”
He pointed to a rise in weddings, First Holy Communions and baptisms - with child baptisms alone reaching 1,000 - as evidence of renewed spiritual life.
One focal point of this revival is the Whuabazhi Pilgrimage Centre, established with ACN’s support, which is drawing record crowds.
The bishops said it was a place where “people come back healed” and that it is a centre that offers hope and direction, particularly for young people.
During the worst years of the insurgency, especially between 2009 and 2014, Christian communities in the region suffered organised attacks that emptied entire villages. A hundred out of the 279 people abducted, including children, have still not returned.
Some young men were forcibly recruited by extremists and remain missing, according to Biship Doeme’s account to ACN.
Even so, clergy continued to travel to rural communities to celebrate the sacraments, often at considerable personal risk.
Bishop Doeme said persecution had, paradoxically, strengthened the Church.
“The moment the church faces persecution, the people become more alive, their faith becomes more active” he told ACN. “Despite gunshots … bomb attacks … series of attacks … you will find them going to Masses for their sacraments.”
While security in Maiduguri has “improved” compared to some other regions, Bishop Bakeni warned that much of Nigeria remains deeply unstable.
“There is a cloud of fear, anxiety and insecurity hovering over our country,” he said. “Every day Nigerians are being killed, or abducted or kidnapped. This has become a reality.”
Elsewhere in the country, Catholic leaders have renewed calls for stronger government action to curb violence.
In Taraba State, recent attacks blamed on militant Fulani herdsmen left 10 villagers dead and entire communities devastated.
Clergy in Wukari Diocese report that over 100 people have been killed in recent months, with more than 200 churches and communities razed and tens of thousands displaced.
Pope Leo XIV has also voiced sorrow over the continued bloodshed and urged prayers for peace.
Against this backdrop, the resurgence of church life in Maiduguri has struck local leaders as remarkable.
“Ordinarily, when people are confronted with violence, the church should be less populated,” Bishop Bakeni said. “But what we are seeing is the opposite.”
He added: “As bad as the persecution is, this is the testimonies we have. It’s the testimonies of faith and the faith which is tested.”
