Diocesan Profile

Erection and territorial boundary
The Diocese of Lira, carved out from the Diocese of Gulu, was erected on the 12th July 1968. This ecclesiastical territory comprises the eight civil districts of Lira, Apac, Oyam, Dokolo, Amolatar, Kole, Alebtong and Otuke, covering all the lango sub-region. Lira diocese is found in the Northern part of Uganda. It is bordered by Gulu Archdiocese in the North and East, Hoima Diocese in South West, Soroti Diocese in the South East and Kotido Diocese in the East. It covers an area of 12,030 sq km. The vast majority of the population belongs to one ethnic group, the langi, and lango is their language. People who went to school understand and speak English. Some kiswhili is also spoken.

Population
According to the 2014 Uganda Housing and Population census, the population of Lira Diocese which covers the whole of Lango was 2.424.880.The Catholics numbered 1,355.468, Anglicans 557.274, Pentecostals 107.797, Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) 12.505, and Moslems 13.565. Some 13.784 people belonged to other religions, while 7.487 were registered as “atheists”.

Political background
Lango Sub- region like all other parts of Northern Uganda, is undergoing a period of transformation and recovery in the life of the people after undergoing a lot of suffering in the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for over 20 years but thanks be to God that the region now is experiencing stability and peace. However, the psychological war remains and we keep battling with this to make people resettle in their homes and integrating those who were directly affected to their different communities. It is worth noting that the war caused grate effects in the life of the people in terms of HIV/AIDS transmission, land wrangles, psychological torture and the like.
STATISTICS