….Bishop Ezeokafor on his Pastoral Visit to the Archdiocese of Bamako
By Fr Constantine Echichechi Okoli
From Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 3, 2026, the Catholic Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Paulinus C. Ezeokafor, made out time to pay a pastoral visit to the Archdiocese of Bamako where he was warmly received by the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Bamako Archdiocese, Mali, Most Rev. Robert Cissé, and a Chapel Council under the care of Rev. Fr. Phillip Zoba Obinwata, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Awka. After the visit, the Bishop spoke on his experience which he described as short in time but unique.
Bishop Ezeokafor stated that he had earlier scheduled to visit Bamako, especially the place where his priest, Fr. Philip, was working, in 2020, but could not, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘My documents were already ready and everything was set for me to take off, and the pandemic came,’ said the Bishop. ‘When I got to Bamako this time, I can just say that God purposefully shaped it to be this way,’ he added.
In a nut shell, Bishop Ezeokafor tried to capture the cultural and socio-political situation of the environment, even as he warned that his little stay in the place would really not make his assessment entirely objective.
‘I arrived on a hot evening and the whole place was dry; their weather is not like ours; and fan and air conditioners are not luxury; you have to have one or two readily available,’ the Bishop recalled.
It was gathered that the percentage of Christians in Mali is about 3% and that the majority of them are Nigerians and specifically, Igbos of South Eastern Nigeria. About 97% of the people in Mali are Muslims and there are only 6 Catholic dioceses in the whole of the country which has a population of about 25 million people.
Speaking of his visit to their seminary, St. Augustine’s Seminary, Samaya, Bamako, the Bishop observed: ‘This was the only Seminary in the whole of the country and they have about 63 seminarians in the two departments of Philosophy and Theology.’
Similarly, the Bishop explained that while visiting other places within the little time he had, he observed that people there were not entirely wealthy but were comfortable in their own world. He recalled that within the area he stayed, the capital of the country, the major means of transportation were motorcycles.
‘While visiting Jean Cardinal Zerbo, the Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Bamako, and also the Catholic University of West Africa, I could read the socio-economy of the country. Mali has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about 26 billion Dollars and is ranked 100 and something in the world,’ Bishop Ezeokafor recalled.
On his assessment of the Catholic faith in the country, the Bishop explained his observation at the place where he celebrated the 5th Sunday of Easter and where Fr. Philip worked as the priest-chaplain, the English Speaking Catholic Community Chapel, Dibida, Bamako.
‘I celebrated Mass as the Chapel there, alongside the Archbishop and other priests, religious men and women and the Lay faithful,’ he said, adding that the different statutory bodies, CMO, CWO, CYON, and even Holy Childhood, were very active and they all participated actively.
‘In fact, I administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 33 candidates, about 55 children were enrolled into the Holy Childhood Association; and the Catechist, Mr. Osele, was very active and helpful,’ the Bishop disclosed.
‘I was warmly received. I am happy I made that journey, though I can say that we need to encourage the people there to grow faster,’ he concluded.
