By Amaka Olua
150 Individuals have been formally admitted as junior seminarians at St Dominic Savio Seminary, Akpu Orumba South LGA, Anambra State, on Sunday November 17, 2019.
The investiture ceremony which was performed by the Rector, Rev. Fr. Maximus Okonkwo, marked the official acceptance of the admitted students into the seminary for effective academic and moral formation.
The event, which doubled with the Parent-Teacher-Development Association, P.T.D.A. meeting between parents, staff and management of the seminary, was organized to deliberate on issues affecting the seminary and to proffer lasting solutions toward moving the seminary to greater heights.
Leading in the concelebrated Holy Mass that preceded the investiture, the Rector, Rev Fr Maximums Okonkwo, stated that God charged them to be prepared for the end time. He maintained that the Bible talked about false prophesy, recalling how, in the year 2000, a false prophesy was made about the end time.
Drawing from the book of St Paul to Thessalonians, he explained how St Paul condemned the act of laziness among people, saying that those who worked would receive the portion of their labour. He frowned at the life style of some youths who wanted quick money, describing them as lazy.
Fr. Okonkwo expressed his displeasure over some parents who did not know the means of their children’s wealth but preferred to be celebrating them and thanking God for making their children wealthy.
He noted that though the students in the seminary had different characters, the formation given to them would make them better children to their parents and society.
He described the seminary as a place which offered proper training, moral and good formation and welcomed the invested seminarians to the seminary and advised them to take their studies seriously as to make their family proud.
The Rector enjoined them to be in a good relationship with God and the Blessed Mother. This was even as he charged them to emulate the footsteps of their young patron saint who died doing the will of God.
He said the grace of God would abide with them when they did things that pleased God and thanked parents for their support and contributions towards the seminary.
The Rector beckoned on the newly invested students to make a promise to God like their patron saint, Dominic Savio, and work towards fulfilling the promise in all their endeavors.
Speaking at the P.T.D.A meeting, the Rector, Rev Fr Okonkwo, pleaded with parents to comply with the project fees given to their wards, explaining that the project levy would be paid annually for the maintenance of the seminary.
Fr Okonkwo reminded them about the forthcoming send-off of the immediate past Rector, Fr Linus Ibekwe, scheduled for 9th February, 2020.
He urged parents to come out en masse to bid farewell to the former Rector who, he said, contributed to the growth of the seminary. He added that the 2020 feast would be doubled with the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the existence of the seminary.
Fr Okonkwo added that a WhatsApp group had been customized for easy information across parents, urging parents not to exit the platform. This was even as he warned them against opening WhatsApp platforms with the name of the seminary.
He also warned parents against providing personal guidance for their wards, insisting all students must be treated equally. He pleaded with them to adhere to the rules and regulations of the school and allow their children to survive on their own.
Fr Okonkwo admonished parents who visited their children when it was not their visiting day, noting that their official visiting day was every second Sunday of the month, between 10am and 4pm.
Also speaking, the Dean, Students affairs, Rev Fr Daniel Eduzor, advised parents to always take their children for checkups during holidays in order to be sure they were of good health before coming back to school.
He charged parents to be straight forward in whatever they did, noting that children learned faster when it came to the behavior of their parents.
For his part, the seminary Bursar, Rev Fr Michael Oguno, expressed his displeasure over the attitude of some parents, saying that the seminary had rules and regulations which some parents did not abide by. He warned them against smuggling of food into the hostels, noting that some of such ended up being spoilt, and the students kept eating them at the detriment of their health.
