By Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh
The clergy, religious and laity of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo rolled out their gongs and drums last weekend, 23 June, as the diocese celebrated 60 years of creation, the emeritus bishop Most Rev. Julius Babatunde Adelakun turned 50 years as a Bishop, and three deacons of the diocese were raised to the presbyterial order at St. Bernadine Catholic Church, Owode, Oyo.
Present at the highly participatory and lively thanksgiving and ordination Mass were Archbishop Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin, the metropolitan of Ibadan province, who was the Chief celebrant and ordaining prelate, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop Felix Alaba Job, Bishops Michael Fagun, Ayo-Maria Atoyebi, Peter Odetoyinbo and the homilist, Francis Femi Adesina. Also present were the Administrator of Ilorin Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Anselm Lawani, representative of the Bishops of Osogbo and Ekiti dioceses, priests of the Catholic Secretariat and formators of the provincial major seminaries in Ibadan and Idowu Offoran, monsignors and a large number priests from Osogbo, Ibadan, Oyo and other neighbouring dioceses; as well as friends and benefactors of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo.
While welcoming everyone to the celebration, the chief host, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, read the good will message from the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi, who had earlier planned to make it to the event, but for unforeseen circumstance. On behalf of the entire diocese, Bishop Badejo paid glowing tributes to his aged predecessor, Bishop Adelakun, thanking him for the enormous work he did as the Bishop of the diocese and for his enduring legacies, which include producing 5 bishops from the old Oyo diocese.
In his homily, Bishop Francis Adesina described Bishop Adelakun as “a rare gift to our generation, a gift of God to us.” He said, “We are celebrating a true pastor, a humble man, a wise teacher, a visionary and good shepherd of the flock of Christ in Oyo Diocese…who promoted vigorously the formation of the laity, Religious and Priests.” He also noted that, “The Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria (CYON) as we know it today began in 1973 as one of Adelakun’s pastoral initiatives. The creation of Osogbo diocese in 1995 is another credible testimony to his human character, his love of the church and his faith in God.”
Furthermore, the bishop of Ijebu Ode diocese gave a brief retrospect of the diocese from as far back as 1883 when some SMA priests first had contact with the ancient Oyo town to sow the seed of the Catholic faith. Nevertheless, when the old Oyo province was carved out from Archdiocese of Lagos in 1949 and erected as the Prefecture of Oyo, it was entrusted to the congregation of White Fathers, now known as Missionaries of Africa. The leader of the congregation, Fr. Owen McCoy, later became the first bishop of Oyo diocese when it was created on March 1, 1963. Since then, the diocese has had Bishop Anthony Okogie as an auxiliary Bishop, Bishop Julius Babatunde Adelakun who took over from February 11, 1973, and presently, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo. For 22 years, Bishop Adelakun administered the old Oyo diocese and moved over to Oyo town in 1995, after successfully birthing Osogbo diocese, where he spent another 14 years as the shepherd of the new Oyo Diocese. Bishop Emmanuel Badejo took over the mantle from him after serving for 2 years as his co-adjutor from August 27, 2007 to November 4, 2009.
Additionally, the homilist testified to Bishop Badejo’s dexterity, as a good successor, in carrying on with the pastoral master plan of his predecessor while bringing his numerous talents and strength to bear on all the areas of the pastoral initiatives of the diocese, social and human development, with on-ongoing intense rigorous works of evangelisation.
On behalf of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), the assistant Secretary of CBCN, Bishop Peter Kayode Odetoyinbo, congratulated Bishop Adelakun, Bishop Badejo, the newly ordained priests and the entire clergy and faithful of Oyo diocese for the triple celebrations. He assured them of the prayers and best wishes of all the Catholic bishops in Nigeria.
In response, the 89-year-old episcopal golden jubilarian, Bishop Adelakun, expressed great joy and gratitude to God, Cardinal Onaiyekan, his successor, all the priests and people of Oyo diocese, and all guests for the honour accorded him by the celebration. He committed everyone to the intercession of the blessed Mother Mary, while also praying for the continuous growth of the diocese and the whole Catholic Church in Nigeria.
