… Mark 1st Anniversary with Charge to Defend Church with All Might as Soldiers of Christ
By Michael Nnebife and Emmanuel Chigozie
The atmosphere in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Friday October 31, 2025, bubbled with celebration as the Catholic Order of Knights of St Michael the Archangel, CKSMA, St Patrick’s Council 001, Awka, admitted new members into the fold of the Order.
The event, which took place at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Awka, also came with the first anniversary celebration of the existence of the Order in the Catholic Church in Nigeria.
The double celebration began with a Holy Mass presided over by the Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev Paulinus Chukwuemeka Ezeokafor.
Speaking in a homily, Bishop Ezeokafor admonished the members of the CKSMA, to defend and protect the Church with their faith, blood and everything they had.
Ezeokafor, who doubles as the Principal Bishop of the Order, reminded the members that the Order, which, he said, was as old as the Church, was ordained by God and fully recognized by the Church even at the Vatican in Rome.
‘So, you can deeply fall in with what the other Orders existing, like Papal Knights, Knights of St John International, among others, are doing,’ the Prelate advised the noble knights and ladies, assuring them of the full support of the Church.
Saying that the growth and development of the Order depended on the type of foundation the members laid, as well as their lifestyles, he urged them to emulate the early Christians by attracting more members.
The Chief Shepherd of Awka Diocese who said he had studied the spirituality of the Order, expressed the belief that the Order would make good impact in the life of the Church.
The Chief Shepherd congratulated the new members, urging them to use the opportunity of being a members of the Order to work out their personal salvation.
He emphasized that the endpoint of every effort of any true Christian in everything was to make heaven on the last day.
‘If this is what you have behind your skull for coming into the Knights of St Michael the Archangel, I pray you to work together as brothers and sisters for the progress of the Church and your own salvation, because in everything we do as Christians, the endpoint is our salvation,’ the Bishop said.
Arguing that the blood of Baptism remained thicker than the blood of birth, the Prelate further enjoined the new noble knights and ladies to use the opportunity of coming together as brothers and sisters of the Knights of St Michael the Archangel to be more devoted Christians who would defend the Church and live out their faith so that at the end, they would find themselves in heaven.
In his message, the Priest Coordinator of the Order, Rev Fr Martin Anusi, expressed gratitude to Bishop Ezeokafor, saying his faith in the members of the Order gave birth to the Order.
‘He provided the pastoral and canonical bedrock for the Order to germinate, and inaugurated it on 24th May 2024,’ Fr Anusi said.
The Priest Coordinator also thanked the founding members of the Order for their dedication and sacrifice.
In an address of welcome, during a grand reception in the second part of the event, at Cana House, Awka, after the Mass, the President of the CKSMA, General Sir James Ogo Ezeonu, traced the origin of the Order to the biblical war between Archangel Michael and dragons as recorded in the book of Revelation 12, verse seven.
The President said that from 2019, a group of 12 Roman Catholic gentlemen from different parts of Nigeria began to search for a spiritual knighthood that would be Catholic, devotional, family apostolate and paramilitary.
According to him, this gave birth to the Order, which, he said, Sir Dan Anaebo Okekenta founded on May 25, 2024, with a group of 11 reputable Catholic gentlemen.
‘It is important to state that members of this Order are not saints; we are sinners who aspire to understudy the life of our Patron Saint, St Michael the Archangel, and seek his intervention and advocacy towards holiness to qualify for heaven at the end of our exit here on earth.
‘We pledge to do our best to serve God and humanity without fear or favour,’ Sir Ezeonu added.
He expressed gratitude to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, for granting the Order the authority to take off from Awka Diocese under the guidance of its Principal Bishop, the Priest Coordinator, and the Assistant Chaplain, Most Rev Ezeokafor, Rev Fr Anusi and Rev Fr Polycarp Okoye, respectively.
‘We pledge to live up to expectations by doing our best to prove our mettle,’ the President said.
He expressed the support of the members of the CKSMA to the Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s second term bid.
‘Members of this Order, having critically analyzed the work record of Mr Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, join the greater majority of citizens of Anambra State to appreciate the effort of the Governor towards achieving his campaign manifesto of turning Anambra State to a Dubai of Africa,’ Sir Ezeonu said.
He highlighted the free education policy, free antenatal services and the achievements of the Governor on road infrastructure, among others, as enough testimonial to consider allowing him to go for second term.
Ezeonu appealed to the Governor to support the Order with a grant for the construction of its secretariat building, and a bus that would enable it to carry out its mission of evangelization with less stress.
He further highlighted a set of marching band, musical instruments, public address system, among others, as the needs of the Order.
Sir Ezeonu appealed to the guests that graced the event to assist the Order to secure those needs, to enable it to serve God optimally.
In a vote of thanks, the Secretary of the Order, Prof Sir Charles Egolum, said the essence of the anniversary celebration was to thank God for granting the Order the grace to defeat the hurdles and all the attempts aimed at stopping the Order from seeing the light of the day.
‘We hope that the Order will continue to celebrate and grow from St Patrick’s Council 001, Awka, to cover the entire Nigeria,’ he said, expressing delight that they were growing in number, just as he believed that the new members would live out the teachings and the values of the Order.
In separate interviews with the press, the new members, Sir Anthony Obiora, Sir Remigus Onuorah, among others, expressed excitement, for being admitted into the Order, as well as their readiness to serve God and defend the Church with all their might.
Parade by the members of the Order, inspection of guard of honour by Bishop Ezeokafor, and rites of admission and investiture of the new members, led by the Bishop, were among the major highlights of the event.
