… Administers Sacrament of Confirmation on 157 Candidates
By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
As the world celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints Day, the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, His Lordship Most Reverend Paulinus Ezeokafor, on Saturday, 1st November, 2025, visited his former Parish, All Saints Catholic Church, Awgbu, in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he served as the Parish Priest from I984 to 1989.
In his homily, the ecumenical Bishop, who noted that God had made open His salvation, exhorted Christians to leverage the opportunity presented before them and lead better and more impactful lives.
Bishop Ezeokafor applauded the conviviality shared and the steadfastness of the parishioners.
‘I am here today in two capacities. One as the former Parish Priest of All Saints, Awgbu, and also as a Bishop of the Diocese on a Pastoral Visit. Coincidentally, today we are celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints which shows that there are people who have lived this life but they are in communion with God and they are in heaven.
Bishop Ezeokafor administered the Sacrament of Confirmation on 157 deserving candidates in the presence of both priests, nuns, and parishioners who gathered to welcome him.
Performing the ceremony, the Chief Shepherd of Awka Diocese said the event was for spiritual reawakening of the 157 children that received the Sacrament of Confirmation, who would in turn succeed the elderly ones.
The charismatic and influential Prelate exhorted them to live out their faith, defend the Church, and aspire to be like the saints being celebrated that day.
‘Coincidentally, we are today celebrating the solemnity of All Saints; people who have lived their lives on earth and are in communion with God in heaven. We pray to God to help us in our various situations of life to serve him well so that at the end of our journey on earth, we will be like them.
‘Tomorrow, 2nd November, we will celebrate our brothers who are suffering in purgatory. It is a special day. We pray for the dead and get complete indulgence for them. We know that we will meet our departed loved ones and are looking forward to meeting with God already.
‘Thus, we are happy that the celebration of this day will keep us with the hope of making heaven. That life with God is eternal and beautiful,’ Bishop Ezeokafor concluded.
Speaking shortly after the Mass, the Parish Priest of All Saints Catholic Church, Awgbu, Rev Fr Hyacinth Okwuchukwu Okafor, appreciated the Bishop for honouring their invitation, recalling the last time he visited the parish was in September 2019.
‘Similarly, we are celebrating All Saints Day today because our Parish is named All Saints,’ he observed, while charging the 157 candidates that received the sacrament of confirmation to hold on to faith and never waiver because they had received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
‘You should not see yourselves as children again but as elders because you have completed what is necessary and demanded of you which is being witnesses of Christ.’
The Diocesan Chancellor, Reverend Father Charles Ndubuisi; the Diocesan Bursar, Reverend Father Nicodemus Izuchukwu; Parish Priest of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Awgbu, Reverend Father Martin Akabogu; were among those who graced the occasion.
In his speech, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Theophilus Sunday Akwuaka (Odirachukwumma) appreciated the Bishop for coming back to what he described as the Bishop’s home, and also for his fatherly support, love, and care.
