By Dennis Joy
The Catholic Diocese of Awka was blessed with the gift of five deacons on Thursday, 21st November, 2024 at Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, Enugu State, as the seminary marked the grand finale of her centenary celebration.
The milestone event which attracted people from all walks of life, especially the alumni of the Seminary counting in their hundreds of thousands, as well as the families and friends of both the seminarians and the seminary, had Most Rev. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, the Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, as the ordaining prelate and the President of the Eucharistic Celebration.
The ordaining prelate, speaking in a homily, stated that the historic event was very dear and significant, having served as a testament of evangelization in this part of the world. He deeply expressed appreciation to God for the sustenance of the seminary in the past decades.
Leveraging the readings, Most Rev. Nwachukwu recommended three codes which would be of enormous value to the ordained deacons, hereby emphasizing on code 1199 from 1 kings 19:9 and 222 from Mark 2:22.
However, he insisted that all those called to be ministers of the Gospel and Sacraments, must eschew tribalism and egocentrism.
Meanwhile, a message of hope was received at the ordination ceremony from his Holiness, Pope Francis. In his keynote address, he said, “The centenary Anniversary marked by Bigard Memorial Seminary affords a grand opportunity to express esteem and gratitude to the seminary and their invaluable services in times of civil unrest. The seminary is a cradle for spiritual growth, serving an opportunity to discover new and refreshing ways of training seminarians.’
The pope encouraged all to be heralds of helping the needy, as such reflected God’s great compassion and tender love to mankind.
The climax of the 12-day Centenary Celebration was the ordination of 40 deacons, among whom five were from the Catholic Diocese of Awka.
The names of the new deacons ordained for the Catholic Diocese of Awka were: Rev. Okpalaorakwe Henry Uchenna; Rev. Okeke Emmanuel Tochukwu; Rev. Ezeagwalu Ambrose Chinedu; Rev. Nwabueze Cyprian Kenechukwu, Rev. Obelenwa Paschal Toochukwu.
Speaking with one of the ordained from the Catholic Diocese of Awka, Henry Okpalaorakwe, he expressed gratitude to God for seeing him through his years as a seminarian and promised to keep to his vows through the help of God.
He further encouraged the upcoming priests to never give up and remain steadfast in the faith.
The historic event hosted many dignitaries from home and abroad; the representative of the Pope, Francis Crotty, Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, who congratulated all the ordained deacons during the event and hoped for more years of celebration.
Also present at the remarkable event was the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barrister Ifeanyichukwu Ossai, who represented the Governor, Barrister Peter Mba who expressed gratitude to all and saluted what he described as the indispensable efforts of the seminary towards the community.
In an interview with the Archbishop of Onitsha and the chief host of the event, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, he revealed his expectations from the newly ordained deacons.
In his words, “The past has been glorious, we want the future to be greater and more glorious. As the deacons have seen the labours of our spiritual fathers, they should work harder and imbibe the spirit of our spiritual fathers which is the spirit of Christ, the good shepherd.
‘We are not settling for anything less.’
Also present at the remarkable event was His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi; the Catholic Bishop of Ekwulobia Diocese, Peter Ebele Cardinal Okpaleke; alumnus of Bigard, His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze; Emeritus Archbishop of Douala, Cameroon, His Eminence, Christian Cardinal Tumi; the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, among other personalities.
In his vote of thanks, the visibly excited Rector of the seminary, Very Rev.Fr Albert Ikpenwa, appreciated everyone present for their great and invaluable contributions to the success of the centenary. According to him, Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu birthed 4 cardinals, 13 Archbishops, 39 Bishops and thousands of priests who, he said, were actively representing the image of the seminary in various parts of the world.
The successful Centenary Anniversary of Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, has gifted the Catholic Diocese of Awka five deacons. This milestone achievement has created a lasting legacy that will forever be recounted in years to come.
Fides gathered that Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu which started as St. Paul’s Seminary, Onitsha in 1922, was officially opened in 1924, settling permanently in Enugu in 1951. According to the Rector, the Centenary Celebration started with the celebration of “Bigard at 95”on the 13th and 14th November, 2019. The 12-day Centenary celebration was filled with activities that tried to pay attention to the four aspects of the Seminary formation, namely; pastoral, spiritual, intellectual and human formation.
Part of the activities were: unveiling and presentation of the Centenary Edition of the African Thought and Culture, ATC Magazine; Bible Quiz Competition among 10 Catholic Schools in Enugu; paper presentations by his Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze; Prof. Augustine Akubue; Prof. Hilary Achunike; Rev. Fr. Dr. Chibuike Ukeh; Bishop Godfrey Onah; Mr. Peter Obi; Prof. Barth Nnaji; Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Umoh; Rev. Fr. Dr. Uche Obodoechina and many others; cultural presentations; theatre and art presentations and many more.
In addition, to keep the legacies of the celebration alive, three major books were published; namely: ”Bigard Centenary Journal”; ”Memoirs of a Mother”; ”Bigard @ 100, A Handbook on Formation of Candidates for the Catholic Priesthood in the 21st Century”.