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2024 Awka Diocesan Cathedraticum, Chrism Mass: Bishop Ezeokafor Calls for Priestly Evanglization

…Chides Parents, Govt on Child Education

By Daruwana Daku, Ebube Edieh , Vivian Ononiwu, Rilwan Yakubu and Chinonso Nelson

As it has become customary every year, the lay faithful of Awka Diocese came together across the three regions, March 26-28, to appreciate and support the chief shepherd of the Diocese, His Lordship, Most Rev. Paulinus Chukwuemeka Ezeokafor, during Chrism Mass and Cathedraticum.

The Bishop presided over the Chrism Mass and Cathedraticum in Adazi, Nimo and Awka Regions of the diocese on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of March, 26, 27 and 28, 2024.

The events which had episcopal vicars, priests and parishes in attendance, saw the Bishop of the diocese blessing the three oils which are the official oils used by the Church, namely; Oil of Chrism, Oil of the Sick and Oil of the Catechumen in the three regions.

While delivering his central message on the 2024 Chrism Mass and Cathedraticum, Bishop Ezeokafor called on priests to continue in their unending work of evangelism and living in the faith of Christ by preaching the gospel at all times. This was even as he called on parishioners and regions to always support the Church in their quest for spiritual and physical growth.

The prelate also added that the Church was not only meant for the priests but also for the members, and that with their support the Church would experience growth in all forms.

The Catholic prelate who is also an ace formator and educational reformer, used the Cathedraticum and Chrism Mass to address the ills of society and admonished parents and guardians to rejig the educational training of their wards and children.

The Bishop Speaking passionately from his  2024 Lenten pastoral letter titled, “Reviewing the Face of Catholic Education with special attention to the childhood stage on how the career of parents, teachers’ choice of lessons and government’s lackadaisical policies on educational reforms had churned out only academic excellence without morality and character, His Lordship called on educators to tailor the training of the child into a holistic system that should contain both the child’s spirituality as well as academic excellence.

According to him, the amount of time dedicated to lessons had truncated the essence of educational training of the child, noting that lessons would lessen their formation and make their wards to be only intelligent thieves without character formation.

‘The parents should be part of the children’s formative years. This is the old way of learning and the sole aim of birthing a child is to take holistic charge of its formation,’ the Bishop noted.

In the same light, he also called on the government of the day to look into the menace of long hours of students/pupils in schools and the boarding school policy of pupils in their tender ages.

Reacting to the Bishop, the representative of the Governor of Anambra State, Hon. Paulinus Onyeka, assured that the government would look into the concerns raised by the Bishop while he called on the Church to always pray for the Government of Anambra State. He said the Government however, welcomed constructive criticism from the leaders of the Church.

Fides gathered that the Cathedraticum which held at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Adazi-Nnukwu; Assumption Parish, Nimo; and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Awka, saw a display of solidary and support to the Church by parishes, pious societies and Church institutions.

From the Consecration of the Oil of Chrism, the celebration derives its name, Chrism Mass; just as such events offer the priests working in the Diocese the opportunity to renew their commitment to the Church through their Bishop.

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