…Prays For Healing of Land
On Saturday, 2 November 2024, in a move that bespoke of compassionate solidarity with the villages and families that lost their loved ones, the Catholic Church Community in Nibo, comprising St Theresa’s, St Joseph’s and the newly created St Paul’s Parishs, gathered to make reparations for the reckless shedding of innocent blood in the community, asking God to heal their land, reports Fr. Robert Anagboso.
It will be recalled that on Sunday, 20 October 2024, a group of unidentified gunmen suspected to be cultists invaded Nibo Town as they celebrated their annual New Yam Festival and opened fire on a group of youths entertaining themselves at an eatery joint, killing no fewer than 12 persons, while leaving many more injured in the ensuing pandemonium.
The dastardly act which has left the entire Nibo indigenes and migrants traumatized and heartbroken, spurred Rev. Fr. Christopher Ezeonu, Parish Priest, St Theresa’s Nibo (the Mother Parish), to call on the two sister parishes of St Joseph’s and St Paul’s Nibo, for a joint public prayer aimed at a holistic healing of the town.
‘This prayer session is important because what happened in Nibo on the 20th of October 2024 and never expected was tragic. Violent spilling of blood is something that has far reaching consequences,’ Fr. Ezeonu explained.
Giving more reasons for convoking the prayer, the St Theresa Parish Priest maintained that as Catholics, they believed that life was sacred and that only God could give life and take it back. ‘We need to make reparations for the blood of the innocents that was senselessly shed. We need to ask God to heal the wounds created by this act on the families of the slain, and we equally need to pray for the happy repose of the slain,’ he explained.
The reparation and cleansing prayers which commenced with a Rosary procession, had each parish marching through its territory to the mother parish, St Theresa’s Nibo; even as the mother parish went out round her territory before returning to the grave yard for a community funeral Mass in keeping with the age long tradition of the Catholic Church in celebrating Holy Mass for the dead at a graveyard on the evening of November 2, in commemoration of All Souls Day.
Beginning the Holy Mass, the Chief Celebrant and the Parish Priest of St Joseph’s Nibo, Fr Damian Kenechukwu, thanked the congregation who trooped out en mass for the solidarity prayer, even as he read out the names of the victims of the 20 October 2024 massacre.
They included the five indigenes of Nibo who were shot dead: Tochukwu Ibada, Chimezie Egwuonwu, Uchenna Obiekwe, Nonso Eze and Abuchi Peter Ude. Other dead people were unmentioned five persons who hailed from the neighboring towns of Awka and Nise, and those from Enugu State. Some of the injured were not left out and they included Favour Ekwunighe, Chikodili Nwosu, Chinenye Onyiliofor, Mr. Echezona Onyiliofor and Mr Obiora Nnebe, among others.
Delivering the homily during the Holy Mass, the convener of the prayer and Parish Priest of St Theresa’s Nibo, Rev. Fr. Christopher Ezeonu, said, ‘We are gathered here this evening to pray for our departed brothers and sisters because we believe that heaven is our home.’
Going further, Fr Ezeonu maintained that if the faithful did not believe in heaven, then, it would be useless being Christians. He regretted the tragedy that befell Nibo Town in general, and, particularly, the parishes, noting that some of the parishioners attended the Sunday Mass earlier in the morning of the same day before going out for the town’s celebration of the New Yam Festival, only to fall victim to what he said they knew nothing of.
‘Who could have known that such a thing would happen?’ he queried. ‘It could have been anyone, it could have been me,’ he added, narrating how he just drove past the place of the incident on his way back from attending a Holy Mass.
He prayed God to receive the souls of the victims, especially as the Mother Church commemorated all departed faithful on the second day of November, and indeed throughout the entire month of November.
He equally prayed for a holistic healing of Nibo Town in general as they experienced something never seen before and for the particular families of the slain that everyone might receive the consolation of the Holy Spirit to bear the irreparable loss, while asking also for God’s omnipotent protection for all and sundry.
Concluding the homily, Fr Ezeonu urged everyone to maintain vigilance over their lives, especially spiritual vigilance, since no one knew when, how and where death could come.
‘What is important is being in friendship with God so that whenever, wherever and however the Lord decides to call us to Himself, we would have been ready to follow him,’ he said.
Reflecting on the significance of the prayer session, the Parish Priest of the newly created St Paul’s Nibo, Rev. Fr. Linus Orjiakor, expressed satisfaction with the ceremony, noting that, ‘It is a worthwhile activity. It is both a spiritual and corporeal work of mercy. Praying for the dead is something enjoined by the Church, but showing solidarity as we have experienced just now is marvelous.
It shows faith and brotherhood. Our prayers are that God heals our land, grant eternal happiness to our slain brothers and sisters, and grant divine consolation to the immediate families and friends of the victims,’ Fr Orjiakor said.
Other priests at the prayer and Mass included Msgr Sylvester Mgbemfulu, the priest in residence at St Theresa’s Nibo; and Rev. Fr. Robert Anagboso, the Director of Fides Media, Okpuno, among other religious sisters, catechists of the three parishes, Mass servers and hosts of parishioners.
