| John Moore, Bishop of Bauchi |
|
John Moore (1942-2010) was born on 12 January 1942 in Harold’s Cross, the second son of John and Mary Moore (née Broughal). He and his brother Gerry can be seen among the altar servers at the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in this photo. From 1955 to 1959, John attended the Christian Brothers Secondary School, Synge Street, Dublin, and then entered the Society of African Missions (SMA). He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Eugene Doherty, Bishop of Dromore, in 1965 at St Colman’s Cathedral, Newry. His first Mass in his home parish was a proud occasion. Appointed to the then diocese of Jos in northern Nigeria, Fr John Moore ministered in the parishes of Akwanga, Kwa, Shendam, Kafanchan, Kwande, Pankshin and Jos. A good pastoral man, he worked also for the development of the area, digging wells, building schools, clinics and churches. From 1983-1984 he was SMA Society Superior in Jos. During his 44 years as a priest and bishop in Nigeria, John Moore saw three new dioceses carved out of the original diocese of Jos: Kafanchan, Shendam and Bauchi. When Bauchi was set up as a Vicariate Apostolic in 1996, John was ordained bishop and he brought the vicariate to the status of a full diocese, being installed at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Bauchi, on 11 March 2004.
Bauchi is more than three-quarters the size of Ireland and has a population of five and a half million people, predominantly Muslim. The Catholic population is less than 2%. Aided by his fluency in Hausa, Fulani and other languages, the new bishop set about creating good relationships with Muslim leaders. In his 14 years as bishop, the number of parishes went from 12 to 20, priests from 23 to 42 (including 29 diocesan clergy). At the time of Bishop Moore’s death on 20 January 2010, there were 80 women and men catechists leading Church services and looking after development projects. In addition, there were nine sisters (OLA, Holy Child and St Louis Congregations), four Presentation Brothers and 22 seminarians training for the priesthood. Our 75th anniversary celebrations provide an opportunity to give thanks for our parish history and reach out to a developing community in the diocese of Bauchi. John as an altar server at Our Lady of the Rosary, |
