By Theodore Ekwem
The title above, translated as Aaron Ekwu: ”The man of God from Nigeria”, is the title of a chapter (43 pages) in the book Faszinierende Gestalten der Kirche Osterreichs (Fascinating Figures of the Austrian Church), edited by Jan Mikrut and published in the year 2000. This is a ten-volume compilation of the ‘shapers’ of the Church in Austria, and Fr Aaron Ekwu’s life and ministry were on the list that made volume one. Jan Mikrut, the editor of the volumes and, coincidentally, the article’s author on Fr Aaron, shares his views and involvement in the beatification project of Fr Aaron Ekwu.
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On Tuesday, 5th March 2024, Jan Mikrut, who at the moment is a Professor of Church History at Gregorian University Rome, hosted a committee member for the beatification of Fr Aaron Ekwu in his office at the University. He recounted how he got involved in the Fr Aaron Beatification Process.
According to him, Fr Aaron was so well known in Austria, and the testimonies of his ministry abound. When the thoughts about initiating the process of his beatification were being entertained both in Nigeria and Austria, his then bishop, Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, as the Archbishop of Vienna, mandated him to do a thorough research and documentation on Fr Aaron.
This assignment took him time and cost a lot to get into the interactions and travel to get the details. In effect, he was a kind of original postulator for the cause in Austria. In his view, Cardinal Schonborn rightly understood the project as a part of evangelization in assisting the local African Church in getting one of their own listed officially in the litany of the saints. Thus, there were pastoral and spiritual reasons for the Church in Austria to get very well involved, and they did.
Their findings are deposited at the diocese’s archive in Vienna, and this publication came from there. The Austrians were not the original ‘actors’ of the cause because Fr. Aaron worked and died in Nigeria after his return from Austria in 1971. However, his pastoral impact on the lives of many during his short stay in Austria necessitated the partnership and charitable involvement of the Archdiocese of Vienna in promoting the cause for his beatification.
Prof Mikrut further noted that they (Austrians) played all necessary parts expected from them; and the rest was expected from Fr Aaron diocese in Nigeria. He then left me with a poser: Twenty years after, what has happened? What stage are you in? In conclusion, he expressed some worries that many who knew Aron and were passionate about this cause have died. These valuable contributors to the project are lost to natural phenomena, making the ‘journey’ more difficult. Therefore, a consistent approach is needed in the project.
In the next edition of this Aaron page on Fides, we will review excerpts from the book: Faszinierende Gestalten der Kirche Osterreichs as they relate to Fr Aaron Ejikemeuwa Ekwu: The Man of God from Nigeria.
