In February 1978, the Catholic Bishops' Conference unanimously erected the Missionary Society of St Paul of Nigeria into a Pious Union, which was approved by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples in October 1978 (Prot.

On October 13, 1984, a new permanent site of the seminary campus was opened in Gwagwalada, Abuja, for the study of Philosophy and Theology, and the Iperu campus remained the two-year spiritual Formation House.

In 1986, members of the Society were sent on foreign missions for the first time to Cameroon, Liberia and the United States of America.

Since then, in addition to these countries and Nigeria, members of the Society work in Botswana, the Gambia, Malawi, Chad, South Africa, South Sudan, Kenya, Central Africa Republic, the Bahamas, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and Grenada.

The erection was officially done and approval of the Constitutions given by the Ordinary of the Society, John Onaiyekan, on April 16, 1995.