From Aliyu Muraki
The Head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City, Pope Francis has inaugurated Monsignor David Ajang as the new Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Lafia.
Pope Francis who was represented at the occasion by Antonio Guido-Filipazzi, the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria congratulated the new Bishop and advised him to be a good Shepherd.
He tasked Bishop David Ajang to make Priests under his Diocese his closest neighbours and desist from showing discrimination.
Pope Francis explained that the Church would support and pray for the new Bishop and urged him to always rely on Almighty God to guide and guard his decisions and actions.
On his part, Matthew Ishaya-Audu, Metropolitan Archbishop of Jos who was the first and immediate-past Bishop of Lafia, expressed joy for the successful inauguration of his successor.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Jos commended members for their support to him while serving as their Bishop in the last twenty years and urged them to extend the same to the new Bishop.
In his message, Monsignor David Ajang expressed gratitude to God who made his installation possible and thanked those who contributed in making the occasion a success.
He said he would continue to pray for members as well as leaders at all levels for God to intervene to help overcome numerous challenges bedeviling the country.
In his goodwill message, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State congratulated the new Bishop and the entire Catholic community for the successful replacement of the former Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Lafia.
Governor Sule therefore expressed the government’s determination to support and work with the new Bishop and other religion leaders to sustain peace in the state.
Bishop David Ajang was made the second Bishop of the twenty-year-old Lafia Diocese following the elevation and transfer of Matthew Ishaya-Audu who was the first Bishop since two thousand and One to Jos as Metropolitan Archbishop of Jos.
The occasion was attended by 26 Catholic Bishops across the country, Priests across the state and beyond, Governors of Nassarawa and Plateau States and representative of Benue State Governor, government’s officials from Nasarawa and Plateau among others.