William Avenya (born 21 June 1955) is a Nigerian prelate of the Catholic Church, who is the bishop of the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

diocese of

Gboko Gboko is a Local Government Area in Benue state, North-central Nigeria. It is headquartered in the town of Gboko. Gboko LGA was created on11 May 1970 with a landmass of 2,264 sq km. Wielding a population of 358,936 according to 2006 census, it ...

in Nigeria. Avenya is the first bishop of the diocese since its creation on 29 December 2012. He served as

secretary general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA).

Early life and education

William Amove Avenya was born on 21 June 1955 in Ishangev Tiev, Konshisha Local Government Area,

Benue State Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...

, Nigeria. He attended Mount Saint Gabriel's Secondary School in

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342. The town is divided by the Ri ...

and completed ecclesiastical studies at St Augustine's Major Seminary Jos (1975–1981). He studied at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

(1989–1990), pursuing a master's degree in education and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. In 2000, he earned a diploma in management and development of non-governmental organizations at Galilee International Management Institute, Israel.

Religious life

Avenya was ordained a priest on 30 May 1981. He was appointed

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Makurdi, Nigeria, on 28 November 2008. He was appointed

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Thucca in Mauretania Thucca was a town in the Roman province of Mauretania Sitifensis. Pliny the Elder describes Thucca as "impositum mari et flumini Ampsagae" (overlooking the sea and the River Ampsaga), and thus on the border with Numidia.Stefano Antonio Morcelli'' ...

on 28 November 2008 and ordained a bishop on 24 January 2009 in Makurdi, Benue. He was appointed bishop of the diocese of Gboko on 29 December 2012 by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

and installed on 24 February 2013. On 17 February 2020, after the death of

Peter Iorzuul Adoboh Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, the bishop of the

diocese of Katsina-Ala In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, Avenya was appointed

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Katsina-Ala. He served in that role until a new bishop, appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, was installed in July 2022.

References

External links

21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Nigeria People from Benue State 1955 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Gboko {{Nigeria-Christian-clergy-stub