Brief History Of The Congregation.
The Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, Gusau, Nigeria, trace her roots in the Church to several sources, beginning with the person of St. Dominic de Guzman founder of the Dominican Order, the Dominican communities of Regenburg, Germany; Amityville, New York, and the Great Bend, Kansas, USA.
The Dominican Sisters from Great Bend, Kansas, in the United States of America (one of the mergers known as the Dominican Sisters of Peace) were invited by the Dominican Fathers in 1956 to be a Christian Presence in a Muslim-dominated North-West of Nigeria and to carry out the most needed work of Evangelization in the then Sokoto Prefecture, through their apostolates in Education, Healthcare and Grass-root Evangelization. In 1973, the Great-Bend Dominicans saw an urgent need to begin the formation of the Nigerian Dominican Sisters as an independent Congregation to assist them and to continue the work of Evangelization when they might have returned to the United States.
This work bore fruit when following the first General Chapter of the Nigerian Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in 1997, the Great-Bend Dominican Sisters handed over the full leadership of the Nigerian Congregation to the indigenous Sisters with the mandate of continuing the apostolate of Evangelization in Northern Nigeria. The Great Bend Sisters have since 1998 returned to the United States. The Nigerian Dominican Sisters are fully established in Nigeria with their Generalate in the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. The Congregation also ministers God’s love in other Dioceses and Archdioceses in Nigeria, namely of Abuja, Jos, Kaduna, Makurdi, Gboko, Lokoja, Issele-Uku, Awka, Enugu and Kontagora. The Congregation also ministers in the Diocese of Konongo-Mampong, Ghana, and the Archdioceses of Chicago and Denver, USA.
CANONICAL STATUS: Diocesan right, April 19, 2007
MOTTO: Veritas- ‘Truth’
CHARISM: Preaching
MISSION STATEMENT: “Called to contemplate truth, to share the fruits of the contemplation with others, to be a Christian presence in our society and to witness the freedom of the children of God”.
PURPOSE: Christian presence and Evangelization in Northern Nigeria.
APOSTOLATE: Education, Health Care, Pastoral Activities
POSTAL ADDRESS:
Dominican Sisters, P. O. Box 62,
Gusau, Zamfara State.
Mobile: 08106600885
Email: Prioressgusau@Gmail.Com
FORMATION HOUSES AND CONTACT/PHONE NUMBERS:
NOVICE DIRECTRESS
Sr. Kate Okolocha, OP
Dominican Sisters Novitiate, P. O. Box 2029,
Makurdi, Benue State Makurdi
Mobile: 08065100652
POSTULATE DIRECTRESS
Sr. Regina N. Odum, OP
Dominican Sisters Postulate Ewuru, Agbor, Delta State
Mobile: 08029220882
DATE & PLACE FOUNDED: 1973/Gusau, Sokoto Diocese
FOUNDER: Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kansas, USA
PRIORESS: Sr. Justina Ifechukwu Nnajiofor, OP
NAME OF SISTERS IN PERPETUAL VOW
- SR. JOSEHINE OTTAH, OP
- SR. MAGDALENE OKORIE, OP
- SR. MARTHA OFFOR, OP
- SR. CATHERINE EZEH, OP
- SR. ANNE OKAFOR, OP
- SR. REGINA ONYEGBULBE, OP
- SR. FRANKA IGWILO, OP
- SR. NKECHI ODUM, OP
- SR. AUGUSTA NYONG, OP
- SR. ELIZABETH OKPECHI, OP
- SR. JACINTA NWAOHIRI, OP
- SR. THERESA ADEWUYI. OP
- SR. EDITH AMAECHI, OP
- SR. FAUSTINA JIMOH, OP
- SR. ANN AN-IKO, OP
- SR. SUSAN OGBOLE, OP
- SR. JUDITH OKOROJI, OP
- SR. BRIDGET YABO, OP
- SR. STELLA UDEH, OP
- SR. RUTH DOGMO, OP
- SR. JUSTINA NNAJIOFOR, OP
- SR. MARIE WAKDOK, OP
- SR. AGATHA NENGER, OP
- SR. CATHERINE OKOLOCHA, OP
- SR. PERPETUA CHIME, OP
- SR. ANTHONIA UTOJIUBA, OP
- SR. EDITH OSUALA, OP
- SR. JULIANA EKWOANYA, OP
- SR. MARTINA ENEH, OP
- SR. UJU ONYEANISI, OP
- SR. CECILIA MADU. OP
- SR. COMFORT OKORO, OP
- SR. MARY EKWE, OP
- SR. PATRICIA DAAOR, OP
- SR. AGNES DANIEL, OP
- SR. MARYANN OMEKE, OP
- SR. ESTHER UPAA, OP
- SR. EMMANUELA OKAFOR, OP
- SR. VERONICA MBACHU, OP
- SR. LAETICIA OKAFOR, OP
- SR. SYLVALINE OBIEZUGHARA, OP
- SR. JULIANA IDOKO, OP
- SR. MAJELLA DOGONYARO, OP
- SR. BENEDETTE OKAFOR, OP
- SR. PATIENCE OLEDINMA, OP
- SR. ESTHER OKWOR, OP
- SR. CHINYERE ANYABARA, OP
- SR. BIOLA ELEMUOWU, OP
- SR. JOSEPHINE SODJE, OP
- SR. WINIFRED GARBA, OP
- SR. NANCY GREGORY, OP
- SR. BLESSING UGWU, OP
- SR. CHRISTIANA IKHANE, OP
- SR. PERPETUA AGU, OP
- SR. EDITH IGBOANUGO, OP
- SR. NWAMAKA NWAFOR, OP
- SR. HOPE SAMUEL, OP
- SR. MARY DANLADI, OP
- SR. JUSTINA EZIKE, OP
- SR. FELICIA OCHUBE, OP
- SR. MARY BAIYEGUNHI, OP
- SR. CALLISTA AGBAKWOR, OP
- SR. BLESSING BUORO, OP
- SR. BLESSING NWANKWO, OP
- SR. SALOME BULUS, OP
NUMBER OF SISTERS IN TEMPORARY VOWS: 19
- SR. MERCY OLUMOROTI, OP
- SR. VIRGINIA CHUKWUEMEKA, OP
- SR. JOY UZUEGBUNAM, OP
- SR. MARYSYLVIA OSUNKWO, OP
- SR. FAITH NWOKOLO, OP
- SR. QUEEN EVEREST ISHEMBER, OP
- SR. MARTHA EDOWAYE, OP
- SR. PRECIOUS AMEH, OP
- SR. GRACEANNE IGUVE, OP
- SR. VIVIAN IJIRAKA, OP
- SR. CHRITIANA AKUME, OP
- SR. VIVIAN MBAKUU, OP
- SR. FRANCISCA ANI, OP
- SR. BELEMA JACOB, OP
- SR. BLESSING OKPAKO, OP
- SR. CYNTHIA EZE, OP
- SR. CATHRINE ODINFONO, OP
- SR. GLORIA ENE GODWIN, OP
- SR. GLORIA EJIKEME, OP
NECROLOGY AND DATE
- SR. BEACTRICE UGWU, OP
- SR. LYNDA GIWA, OP
- SR. BENEDETTE EKENECHUKWU, OP,
AUG. 2005 - SR. HELEN EKWUEME, OP
- SR. JOAN OFUOKWU, OP AUG. 2015
- SR. CHRISTIANA UMEADI, OP MARCH, 2017
- SR. REGINA ANYAORAH, OP MAY, 2019