Missionary Society of Saint Paul of Nigeria


The Missionary Society of Saint Paul of Nigeria is a Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right in the Roman Catholic Church, for men, founded in and basically active in missions within Nigeria, but also in many other countries of the world. Its headquarters are in Kutunku, Gwagwalada, Abuja, F.C.T., Nigeria.

History

The idea to found a truly African Missionary society was conceived by Dominic Cardinal Ekandem already in the 1950s, but only on October 25, 1977, the first seminary for training priests was opened at Iperu Remo, Ogun State. In 1978, the episcopal conference of Nigeria established this first indigenous Missionary Society in Africa in the canonical form of a Pious Union. The main aim was and still is to provide priests for the mission of the Church in the needy dioceses of the world. In 1984, the seminary and the headquarters of the Society were transferred to Abuja, which became the capital city of Nigeria in 1991. The house for the initial two-year spiritual formation remained in Iperu. The Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples changed the canonical status of the Missionary Society of St. Paul in 1995 to Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right.
The 260 MSP Fathers are working currently mostly in Africa, but also in North America, in Europe, and in the Caribbeans.

Superiors general