By Rev Fr Robert Anagboso
To the children of Ma Florence Nwogo Okafor, Friday 26 April 2024 was a glorious day, as they laid to rest the matriarch of their family in the bosom of the Lord, even as they mourned her earthly passage.
The burial ceremony which began the previous day with a well-attended Vigil Mass by priests, religious and lay faithful, bore witness to the strong Christian faith of the late Ma Florence Nwogo Okafor.
Giving the homily, Rev. Fr. Gerald Ejimbonwu stressed Ma Nwogo’s insistent admonition on brotherly love and sharing, which, he said, defined the entire life of Mrs Florence Nwogo Okafor.
The climax of the celebration was the Burial Mass the next day, 26 April 2024, at St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Agulu, which attracted a galaxy of priests, religious, parishioners and a host of dignitaries.
Delivering a powerful homily, Bishop Ezeokafor underlined the importance of the Christian Faith, especially in the resurrection, adding that the current Easter Season was a testimony of Christ’s victory over death.
Drawing from the life of Ma Florence Nwogo Okafor, the Prelate urged all to know their faith and stand by it, even as he said that Mrs Okafor stood firm in her Catholic faith and always rejected whatever that was contrary to that with the words, “Nkea megidere okwukwe anyi”, meaning, “This one is against our faith”.
The Bishop said the deceased preferred to suffer than to betray or deny the Catholic Faith. Concluding, Bishop Ezeokafor urged the children to maintain the legacies of their mother.
The late Mrs Florence Nwogo Okafor was born in 1942 into the family of the late Mr. and Mrs Okoli Ukata of Ukunu Village in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State.
Incidentally, Nwogo was formerly an Anglican, together with her family members, but later joined the Catholic Faith and got baptized in 1959 when she was about 16 years of age.
In 1960, she got married to the late Raphael Nnebedum Okafor Aziwu, a.k.a., Ezebunandu, and got wedded at Madonna Assumpta Parish, Agulu by the late Very Rev. Fr Alfred Anyichie, the then parish priest. The marriage was blessed with seven (surviving) children and sixteen grandchildren.
Mrs Florence loved the Catholic liturgy, especially the Holy Mass, and belonged to various religious associations.
As a great woman of faith and courage, Florence, together with her husband, stood with the Church at every time and season. With her husband, she was among those few Catholics, who stood with the Church in the late 70s ”Ajadu” saga. They remained firm and resolute in the face of insults and aspersions.
Even at her husband’s demise, she would disagree and frown at any heathen and syncretistic practices in any group or association she belonged to. Despite all these, she never hesitated to greet her detractors whenever she met them. ‘If you greet only your brothers, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do the same,’ Matt5:47.
In Florence, one saw the lived expression- PROUDLY CATHOLIC!
