In February 2011, a Spiritan retirement residence opened in Mgbidi, Nigeria to provide basic medical care for the aging and retired confreres in the region. In 2013, a small hospital was constructed to serve both the needs of the Spiritan confreres as well as members of the surrounding communities. 

In 2015, construction began on a hospital addition, but ceased at the ground level a year later. In 2019, as the medical needs of both the Spiritans and those in the area grew, the decision was made to expand the hospital to deliver those needs. The work resumed, and the bigger and more extensive hospital was blessed and officially opened on December 17, 2020. 

With this increased capacity, the hospital anticipates serving several thousand people each year. The compound is locally referred to as “Holy Ghost Haven.” 

On January 15, 2021, Fr. Damasus Okoro, C.S.Sp. assumed responsibility for the administration of the hospital from Fr. Gabriel Okonkwo, C.S.Sp., who served in that role through the construction phase of the project.

A project of this scope, in a rather remote part of the world, with little local financial backing capability, involves many partners. The U.S. Congregation’s role was in collaboration with the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach to deliver, from the U.S. to Mgbidi, much needed medical equipment, including an ultrasound machine.

With a population of about 200 million people, Nigeria is politically unstable. The daily news carries stories of the kidnappings and violence by Islamic extremists moving from the North to the South of Nigeria of the country. This reality affects every aspect of the peoples’ lives. 

In spite of the country's richness in mineral oil, the government fails to provide the majority of its citizens with basic amenities such water, electricity, education and much needed public health care. 

These are some of the areas the Church, especially different religious congregations such as the Spiritans, address to respond to the needs of the poor and the less privileged. Facilities such as the Holy Ghost Hospital Mgbidi, Nigeria help to mitigate the needless suffering and deaths of the population.