The streak of achievements of Igbo Catholicism in just one century, her flourishing and imposing presence, her charismatic and enthusiastic laity, her highly educated and enlightened clergy and religious, her ever-crowded and carnival-like Eucharistic celebrations as well as her overall contributions to the universal Church, are great signs of hope in a world that is being terribly demoralized and confused by excessive reliance on materialism. Igbo Catholicism is indeed a breath of fresh air in a world in which religious ideals and trust are daily being made to appear like values of the bygone years.
This first in a two-volume series takes a critical look into the Catholicism of the Igbo people of Nigeria. The goal is to emphasize the fact that though Catholicism has made a tremendous progress in this part of Africa, there is still a lot to be done. This book intends to suggest some important ways forward for the African exemplar Christianity that is indeed today's Catholicism among the Igbo people of Nigeria.