Parish Life in Lagos: The Harvest is Growing

Abstract

How do you measure the growth of a church? In Nigeria, the Catholic Church is growing so fast that by the time the data is collected, it is out of date. The Jesuit parish of Christ the King Church in Lagos, the former capital, provides a typical example of this kind of growth. With a central parish of around 8,500, two outstation churches of 5,000 and 1,500, and a secondary school of over 1,000 students, the parish is the focus for a wide range of social, liturgical and sacramental activities for many members of many communities. In the six years since the Jesuits took over the parish, two church buildings have been erected at the central location, with the population outstripping the capacity of the "new" church before it was completed in each case.....