By Michael Nnebife and Ebube Edieh
The atmosphere of Awka, the Capital City of Anambra State, was agog with celebrations on Sunday, 17 November 2024, as the Management, staff, students; including the old girls and the friends of St John of God Secondary School, Awka, gathered to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the school.
Present at the epoch-making event were the Chancellor of Awka Catholic Diocese, Rev Fr Charles Ndubisi; the Episcopal Vicar of the Diocese, Rev Fr Anthony Nwafor; the Diocesan Education Secretary, Rev Fr Maximus Okonkwo; Education Secretary, Awka Zone, Rev Fr Dr Angelo Obiakor; the member representing Awka South and North Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, Prof Lillian Orogbu; Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Youth Empowerment, Dr Nelson Omenugha, who chaired the occasion; the Chairman, Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board, Associate Prof Vera Nwadinobi; among other numerous priests, religious, top government officials, academics, and community leaders.

The event began with a Pontifical Holy Mass, presided over by the Proprietor of the School and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Awka, Most Rev Dr Paulinus Ezeokafor.
In a homily during the Mass, Bishop Ezeokafor, who emphasized the essence of Catholic Education, which, he said, was to balance the academic need with the spiritual need of a child, appealed to parents to have adequate time for their children’s upbringing.
The Bishop regretted that parents nowadays overemphasized academic work without considering the moral lives of their children, arguing that it was the obligation of parents to teach their children the basic prayers of the Church and the basic conducts and ways of living, at home.
Reflecting on the readings of the day, the Chief Shepherd of Awka Diocese reminded Christians, of the second coming of Jesus Christ and enjoined them to prepare by living a holy life so that at the end, they would be found among those standing at the right hand of God for eternal bliss.
He expressed satisfaction with the pace of development at St John of God Secondary School, and thanked the individuals who contributed in one way and other to that.
Bishop Ezeokafor also extended appreciation to the Management and the staff of the school for their commitment and dedication to service.

In his remarks, the Manager of the School, Rev Fr Malachy Maduewesi, thanked Bishop Ezeokafor for not only his fatherly care and concern shown to the school but also his great love for education and proper formation of youths.
The Manager, while presenting an address of welcome, narrated the landmark achievements the school had recorded in the recent past.
‘The school, both presently and in the past, is renowned, not only in morals and academic excellence, but also in skills, as she has excelled in the game of cricket locally and nationally,’ the Manager said.
According to him, the school took the first position in Prof Chinua Achebe Literary Competition in November 2022, and was a winner of numerous competitions such as Junior Achievement Nigeria-Regional Company of the Year Competition, 2022, among others.
Rev Fr Maduewesi outlined a number of infrastructural projects the school had put in place in the recent past to include, a new Chapel of Adoration for the spiritual growth of St John of God students, among others.
He further told the guests and the supporters of the school about the dire needs of the school which included ultramodern administrative complex, 50-sitter capacity bus, various sports facilities, more boreholes, among others.
Like the literary Oliver Twist, Fr Maduewesi solicited further assistance of the supporters and the guests to enable the school to complete the projects for her uplift and holistic transformation.

He thanked them for their past support and contributions to the development of the school, and for making out time to come to rejoice with the school.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Dr Omenugha, expressed gratitude to the school Proprietor and the Manager for organizing the diamond jubilee which he described as very important, noting that it reminded people about the past, the present, and the future.
He pledged support to the school, saying that the future of the Church and larger society depended largely on the well-being of the school.
Some highpoints of the event in which Bishop Ezeokafor administered the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation to 134 candidates, all of whom were the students of the school, included commissioning and blessing of projects which included asphalted road in the school; investiture of new students, among others.