Chronology of Catholic Dioceses:Notes on the Diocese of Lai, 1998

The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has created (November 21^st 1998) the diocese of Lai, (Chad) with territory taken from the dioceses of Moundou and Doba, making it suffragan of the metropolitan Church of N' Djamena.

The Bishops of Moundou and Doba proposed that the Holy Father should create a new diocese of Lai, (Chad) considering the vast extension of their dioceses which caused difficulties in pastoral activity. They and the other Bishops were encouraged also by the results of the creation of Doba in (1989), which thanks to the dynamism of the Bishop has seen a considerable increase in the number of church personnel and acceleration in initiatives for evangelisation and development. Lai is the main town of the Tandjile prefecture, in the northern part of Moundou and Doba. It is a rural area, with few roads and in the rainy season is often isolated for 4-5 months. In the dry season most of the region can be travelled with jeeps. Lai will be the See of the new diocese and the modest Holy Family Parish Church will serve temporarily as cathedral. .

Here are the statistics of Lai and those of Moundou and Doba after the creation of Lai diocese 1998 but before the creation of Gore a week later the same year:

Source: Fides, December 11, 1998

- CT