By Padre Mike Nsikak Umoh, CSN
Friday, 11 February 2022, witnessed a mammoth gathering of who is who in the Catholic Church in Nigeria and in Anambra State, as the Chief Shepherd of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Maduka Okeke celebrated the 20th anniversary of his Episcopal consecration at the massive arena of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Onitsha.
Much as there were efforts to restrict the number in attendance to two representatives per parish, the event still had thousands of worshippers cut across the various sodality groups and pious societies in the Archdiocese, with over four Hundred priests, hundreds of female religious, catechists, knights and their ladies, the State Governor with his wife and members of his cabinet, distinguished state personalities, traditional rulers and Prof. Pat Utomi. On the altar were 6 Archbishops, 29 Bishops, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi, who was the chief celebrant of the Holy Mass.
In a heartwarming and inspiring homily, Bishop Onah of Nsukka diocese described Archbishop Okeke as a man of prayer and a peace broker whose mission has often exposed him to some tough peripheries of the society that at times left him badly bruised for the sake of Christ.
Bishop Onah observed that in keeping with his motto, to give abundant life, Archbishop Okeke has reached out immensely to millions of people in the past twenty years of his episcopacy in the areas of education, medicals, the prisons, and through the many youth empowerment programmes he has embarked upon.
The homilist described Archbishop Valerian as “a man of faith, prayer, practical charity, who had absolute trust in divine providence and great trust in his priests.” He gives everyone opportunity to grow and work irrespective of his age in the priesthood and concentrates a lot in the ongoing development of his priests for specific responsibilities.
While testifying to how the power of prayer in the life of the celebrant has saved him from many attacks encountered in the course of duty, the preacher encouraged priests not to neglect their prayer life. He noted that though people may readily notice other shortcomings in a priest, they will hardly know when a priest begins to fail in his prayer life, until it eventually manifests badly.
The prelate further explained that only a life of prayer can enable a Bishop to truly and sincerely follow the pattern of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and like Him, lay down his life for his flock. Alluding to Pope Francis’ regular admonition that a good minister of God lays down his life by consciously remaining in close union with the flock entrusted to his care in order to smell like them, he concluded that “Archbishop Okeke is a pastor who remains close to his flock and meets them at the peripheries even at the risk of being bruised.”
To this end, Bishop Onah went on to add that, ensuring political stability and peace in the State is one area that Archbishop Okeke has been very courageously involved and sacrificed greatly by moving out of his comfort zone. Playing this role, which is unknown to many people, has not been easy in any way, but has yielded great dividends for the general good of the State and the people. “Thank God for your courage … a courage that is not accidental but comes from deep faith in God. The ripples of your effort are felt not only in Anambra, but worldwide,” Bishop Onah affirmed.
The preacher challenged the Church in Nigeria to pay back by extending “care to the Church in Europe and America, to serve and strengthen them in spite of whatever challenges we may have.” He however also noted that there is the need to take a very critical look at some of our practices because “our culture is not yet evangelised and has become a terrible threat to our faith.”
In his remark, and drawing strength from 1Thesalonians 5:16 to 18, the celebrant thanked “the God of love for the extraordinary providence and the divine light, which has led the way and granted the enabling grace to follow in the forty years of priesthood and twenty years of Episcopacy.” He noted that though the diocese planned for a very modest celebration, the presence of the large number of Bishops from all over the country has made it both so special and great. The Archbishop also used the opportunity to thank his priests, the religious and Christ’s faithful for their enormous love and support. He also thanked the Government and the people of Anambra for their support and collaboration, while promising his prayers and continuous availability for service.
