Our Brief History

           The Province of St. Joseph the Worker of the Catholic religious order known as the Order of Preachers or Dominicans comprises the countries of Nigeria and Ghana in West Africa. There are more than 325 Dominican friars in Africa concentrated mostly in Nigeria, D.R. Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Benin, South Africa, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Cameroon, and Kenya. Ours is the largest entity of the Order in Africa as well as its only province.

On February 27, 1951 three American Dominicans from the Chicago Province arrived in Nigeria and started the first foundation of the Order in Yaba, a suburb of Lagos. In 1953 the Dominicans went to northern Nigeria where they administered the Diocese of Sokoto until 1985. The first two bishops of Sokoto were American Dominicans: Bishop Thaddeus Lawton OP (+1966) and Bishop Michael Dempsey OP (+1996).

At present (Oct 2005) there are 144 friars (1 bishop, 86 priests, 8 deacons, 6 cooperator brothers, 36 clerical brothers, and 7 novices) affiliated or assigned to the Province and all except seven are of West African origin. In 1992, fr. Ayo Maria Atoyebi OP was appointed Bishop of Ilorin (Nigeria). The Province has nine communities: eight in Nigeria and one in Ghana (Kumasi).

For many years the thrust of the Province's apostolate has been initial formation and pastoral work. Nigeria is well-known for having an abundance of religious vocations; the Province's novitiate and studium (St. Thomas Aquinas Priory, Ibadan) is one of the largest Dominican communities in the world with about 80 friars.

In 1994 the Province started the Order's only centre of institutional studies in Africa, Dominican Institute (D.I.) in Ibadan, offering a B.A. in Philosophy (in affiliation with University of Ibadan) , A Bth (in affiliation with both the Angelicum in Rome, and the University of Jos) and an M.A. in Theology (in affiliation with the University of Duquesne). Besides the Dominicans, other religious institutes such as the Redemptorists, Capuchins, Carmelites, Schoenstatt Fathers, Benedictines, Cistercians, Servants of Charity, several congregations of women religious and lay students have enrolled at D.I. A modern and spacious classroom building was completed in 1999 and an administration/faculty office building is under construction.

Besides Dominican Institute and SS. Peter and Paul Major Seminary in Ibadan, Dominicans also lecture at the federal universities in Ibadan, Ile-Ife, and Lagos. Dominicans administer the Catholic chaplaincies at the federal universities in Ile-Ife and Lagos.

Many scholarly and popular writings of Dominicans are published by Dominican Publications, Yaba. Dominican students in Ibadan also publish two popular Catholic periodicals: Decision magazine, a quarterly for youth, and Skepticos, an annual Catholic magazine of general interest to the laity. Both magazines represent efforts to "read the signs of the times" and to respond to them.

The Dominicans in Nigeria are well-known for St. Dominic's Church in Yaba, Lagos, which is one of the largest and most active parishes in the country with an estimated congregation of 40,000. The Provincial Office is located at St. Dominic Priory, Yaba.

The Province owns the Dominican Nursery and Primary School in Mafoluku, Lagos and plans soon to open a secondary school. St. Catherine of Siena Medical Centre, Mafoluku, is also owned by the Province. The Province's communications centre and possible future radio station, Veritas House in Yaba, was opened in 2001.

Although the Province has some local income-producing projects such as St. Dominic's Bookshop in Yaba and the St. Jude Apostolate, the scarcity of funds is an ongoing problem. The Province receives no subsidy from the U.S. and has been financially self-sufficient for many years.

For the last several years the Province has had agreements with the Diocese of Harrisburg (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) and the Archdiocese of Seattle (Washington, U.S.A.) to priests curates for diocesan parishes in exchange for financial support for our formation programme in Nigeria. Presently five of our priests are working in the U.S. under this arrangement. The Province's Office of Development and Mission, which coordinates overseas fundraising, is in Washington, D.C.

Within the territory of the Province (Nigeria and Ghana) there are three congregations of Dominican Sisters and three chapters of the Dominican Laity. The only branch of the Dominican Family not yet present is that of the cloistered Dominican nuns.

GENERAL PROVINCIAL STATISTICS
Brothers affiliated to this Province
Bishop 1
Priests 85
Solemnly professed clerical brothers 12
Solemnly professed cooperator brothers 6
Total in solemn vows 104

Simply professed clerical student brothers 32
Simply professed cooperator brothers 0
Novices 7
Total affiliated to this Province 143

Brothers affiliated to other Provinces and assigned to this Province
Priests 7
Cooperator brother 1

Brothers affiliated or assigned to this Province, including novices
Total affiliated and assigned to the Province 150

Brothers living outside the territory of the Province (Nigeria and Ghana)
Brothers living outside the Province primarily for studies 13
Brothers living outside the Province primarily for ministry 6
Brothers on leave and/or sabbatical 5
Total brothers living outside the Province 24

Brothers assigned to other provinces living in the territory of the Province (Nigeria and Ghana)
In residence for studies 2
In residence for novitiate 0
Total 2

Dominican communities in the Province
Priories 3
Formal Houses 6
Novitiate and Studentate 1
Parishes 9
University chaplaincies 2
Non formal Houses 3

Priories (Convents) According to the Order of Establishment and Foundation
St. Thomas Aquinas, Ibadan (1968) 1974
St. Dominic, Yaba, Lagos (1951) 1983
St. Joseph House, Mafoluku (1990) 2006

Formal Houses According to the Order of Foundation
Our Lady of Fatima House, Gusau 1954
St. Albert the Great House, Ile-Ife 1989
St. Martin de Porres House, Agbor-Obi 1993
St. Martin de Porres House, Kumasi 1993
All Saints House, Oyigbo 1997
St. Albert the Great House, Obosi 2002

Non-formal houses
Domus Dominici, Tarkwa Bay, Lagos 1976
St. Thomas More Chaplaincy, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos 2004
Emmanuel House, Emene, Enugu 2005