Pope Francis has announced the establishment of the Catholic Diocese of Aguleri and appointed Bishop Denis Isizoh as the first bishop of the diocese.
The creation of the new Catholic Diocese in Nigeria and the appointment of the pioneer Bishop of the new Episcopal See was made public by the Holy See Press office on Sunday, February 12.
The Diocese of Aguleri was carved out from the Archdiocese of Onitsha, making it suffragan to the Metropolitan See of Onitsha.
Until his appointment as the new Local Ordinary of Aguleri Diocese, the bishop served as Auxiliary Bishop of Onitsha and Titular Bishop of Legia.
Born in 1956 in Ogbunike in the Archdiocese of Onitsha, the bishop was enrolled for his Philosophy studies at Bigard Seminary (Philosophy campus) Ikot-Ekpene from 1976 to 1980 and for his Theology studies at Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu from 1982 to 1985.
He was ordained a priest on September 28, 1985 for the Archdiocese of Onitsha and was consecrated a bishop on May 1, 2015.
As a priest, the bishop served in different capacities, including Parish Vicar, Chaplain for Schools, formator at All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha, official Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican City (1995 – 2015), among other Priestly responsibilities.
Bishop Denis had his Licentiate at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome between 1989 and 1993.