The Head of the Catholic Church worldwide, Pope Francis has appointed Most Rev (Dr) Lucius Ugorji as the new Archbishop of Owerri, Imo State.
The announcement was made on Sunday by Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, His Grace, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi, who represented Pope Francis at the ongoing opening ceremony of the first plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in 2022 in Abuja.
72-year-old Ugorji will take over from His Grace, Archbishop Anthony l Obinna who has been in that position since March 26 1994.
Until his appointment, Ugorji was the Bishop of Umuahia and former Apostolic Administrator of the Ahiara diocese.
Most Rev Ugorji was ordained a priest at the age of 25 and was appointed a Bishop by Pope John Paul II when he was 38 years old.
He recently resigned from his position as chairman, Governing Council of Imo State University, Owerri, a development that came as a surprise to many stakeholders.
Ugorji is said to have approached the State Governor, Hope Uzodinma on several occasions to discuss the proper funding of the University.
He is said to have told Uzodinma that the State-owned tertiary institution cannot run or fund itself.
It was reported on his record that he said he could not understand how Uzodinma expected him to preside over an underfunded and stagnant University as a cleric.
The man of God also observed that IMSU was not being run as an institution of higher learning deserving of Imo University status and that to avoid dabbling into any mess, he opted to resign.
In many Christian denominations, an archbishopis a bishop of higher rank or office.
Read also:
JUST IN ! Archbishop of Lagos Locked Within His Residence
Pope Appoints Ugorji New Archbishop of Owerri