VEJOH - VERITAS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES

Northern western Nigeria, which has been centre of Islamic scholarship since the 14th and 15th centuries owing to spread of Islamic religion through trans-Saharan trade, Arab merchants, and Islamic scholars’ missionary activities, has over centuries experienced not only the spread of the religion of Christianity by different Christian missionaries’ bodies but also the establishment and development of Churches, missionary schools, and healthcare centres by different Church denominations. In view of this, using primary and secondary sources, this paper examines the birth, growth, and challenges of the Catholic Church in Katsina since 1710, when the first attempt was made. The paper argues that the birth and growth of the Catholic Church were associated with colonial and post-colonial push-and-pull factors in migration and intergroup relations, the activities of Catholic missionaries, and the conversion of the Katsina Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups from traditional religion and Islam to Christianity. In fact, this gave birth to the growth of indigenous Hausa and Fulani Christians, the Catholic community, Catholic outstations, Parishes, Deaneries, and the Catholic Diocese of Katsina, which was created from the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto in the year 2023, with a native of Argungu, Kebbi State, Rt. Rev. Mssgr. Gerald Mamman Musa as its first bishop. This is a major landmark in the history of Northwestern Nigeria, where the heartland of Islam is, and also the seat of the Caliphate established by the Jihad of Uthman Danfodio since 1804, with a well-structured Islamic system of government.

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