… Celebrates Rev Msgr Mgbemfulu’s Priestly Golden Jubilee
By Michael Nnebife and Ebube Edieh
The magnificent church building of St Peter’s Catholic Parish, Ugbene, in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, was on Sunday, 30th June, 2024, filled to the brim with the entire people of Ugbene, as the Parish honoured no fewer than 45 elderly men and women of the community who had attained the golden age of 80 and above.
Over twenty of the 45 honoured elders are pagans, Anglicans, and Pentecostals.
According to St Peter’s Parish Priest, Rev Fr Justin Ezechukwu, the event generally adjudged to be the first of its kind in the area, was a powerful grassroots evangelization aimed at uniting the Ugbene People and restoring the Christian faith of the people, particularly the elders.
The Parish Priest expressed dismay over a sharp decline in Christian faith among Ugbene People over time, saying a good number of them, including all the idol chief priests in the community today, were Christians before the 90s.
Rev Fr Ezechukwu, who said that he had had one-on-one conversations with some of the elders on the reasons for their backsliding in faith, expressed the hope that the event, which he also described as a welcome back ceremony for them, would restore and sustain their Christian Faith.
He thanked God for the success of the event and also the sponsors, praying God to reward them with longevity for sponsoring a grassroots evangelization in the form of ceremony to honour the aged.
The parish took the opportunity offered by the historic event to celebrate the priestly Golden Jubilee of a son of the soil, Rev Msgr Sylvester Mgbemfulu, which was marked on Saturday, 6th April, 2024, at St Theresa’s Parish, Nibo.
The event was a tripartite occasion, as St Peter’s Parish also appreciated her two former Parish Priests, Rev Fathers, Charles Ezeoke and Ignatius Ukoh, for their services in Ugbene in the years 2017 – 2020 and 2020 – 2023 respectively.
Speaking in a homily during the Holy Mass heralding the tripartite event, Rev Fr Ezeoke admonished the Ugbene People to have faith and put their trust in God.
Fr Ezeoke recounted what he described as the miraculous healings of a woman with issue of blood and Jairus’ daughter by Jesus Christ, assuring the Ugbene People that God was capable of solving their problems, if they could draw near to Him in faith and trust.
Fr Ezeoke congratulated the honoured octogenarians and prayed God to sustain their lives and bless them with sound health.
The second part of the epoch-making event was full of fanfare, featuring acrobatic dances by St Peter’s Catholic Women’s Organization band group; Holy Child Society of the Parish; presentation of birthday gifts and certificates to the honoured octogenarians; presentation of gifts to Msgr Mgbemfulu, among others.
In an address of welcome read by the Secretary of the Parish Council, Hon Boniface Nnaegbuna, St Peter’s Parish extolled the priestly vocation of Msgr Mgbemfulu in Awka Diocese and appreciated Rev Fathers Ukoh and Ezeoke for their exemplary missionary work at Ugbene.
In his response, Rev Msgr Mgbemfulu was full of appreciation to St Peter’s Parish Priest, Fr Ezechukwu, for the ongoing developments in the parish and for coming up with the tripartite event.
He also thanked the parishioners and the entire Ugbene Community for their continual support for his vocation.
Also, Fathers Ukoh and Ezeoke expressed gratitude to the current St Peter’s Parish Priest and parishioners for remembering their services.They extolled the service of Fr Ezechukwu in the parish which they described as glaring and remarkable.
One of the honoured octogenarians who spoke on their behalf, Pa Hon Christopher Nweke, was visibly overwhelmed with joy, describing the recognition accorded them by Fr Ezechukwu as a rare honour they had never seen. He said the prayers of Ugbene elders upon Fr Ezechukwu were for divine uplift to the zenith of priesthood.
Some of the honoured octogenarians, who include Pa Josephat Nwobi, Ma Elizabeth Tagbo, among others, showered encomiums, as well as prayers of longevity, upon Fr Ezechukwu and the sponsors of the event.
Dignitaries that graced this all-important event included the Dean, Ebenebe Deanery, Rev Fr Anthony Mbaonu; the Anglican priest in charge of St Mary’s Anglican Church, Ugbene, Revd Ikenna Nwankwo; the Deputy Transition Committee Chairman, Awka North LGA, Hon Julius Agbatue, who chaired the second part of the event; the Traditional Ruler of the community, Igwe Sampson Chimakwa, with his cabinet members; members of the Ugbene Town Union, including those of the women’s wing; and a large number of illustrious sons and daughters of the community, including the Chief Executive Officer, Wisdom Pack, Anambra Rice, Bro Edwin Ejike Urebe.
For Igwe Chimakwa and Bro Urebe, the event was a thing of joy which had never happened in the annals of Ugbene Community.
While praying God to reward Fr Ezechukwu and the sponsors of the event with longevity, Igwe Chimakwa and Bro Urebe expressed the belief that the joy which came with the event would boost the health and ages of the elders.
