PREAMBLE:
We, members of the St. Jude Society in Nigeria from across the old provinces of old Lagos, old Onitsha and old Kaduna under the umbrella of the National Council, met at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Warri from the 14th โ 16th of November 2024 for the 29th Annual General Meeting of the Society. The AGM opened with a Holy Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Warri Diocese,
Most Rev Anthony Ewherido and concelebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Dominic Mbomson, OP, the national Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Jude Nwabuokei The Warri Diocesan Chaplain and Rev. Fr. Ignatius Umehido the Priest in charge of the Chaplaincy. The Bishop in his homily reflected on the two readings of the day which bothered on eschatology and teachings about the end time. He emphasized the essence of unity and prayer as members of St. Jude Society and encouraged us to continue thepropagation of the ideals of St. Jude Society.
PAPER ON THEME:
The theme of the AGM was โThe Intercessory Power of St. Jude in the work of Evangelisationโ And Rev. Fr. James Ogbeiwi, the Chaplain of Benin Provincial Council, Presented a paper on the theme. In his exhortation, Fr. James gave a historic account of St. Jude as a person person, provided enlightenment on the theological perspectives of St. Judeโs intercession and the practical implications of his intercessory powers. He went further to talk about the Devotional practice of St. Jude Society which includes Novenas and Prayers which are seen as instrumental in encouraging faith and participation in evangelistic activities. On Evangelisation, Fr James gave historical and contemporary accounts that shows that the veneration of St. Jude has often led to significant conversions and revitalization of Christian communities. That his intercessory power is perceived as facilitating both personal and collective conversion experiences as seen in history and even in modern times where similar trends are observed. We prayerfully reflected on the theme and the presence of our chaplains and their words of encouragement all through the AGM made us fulfilled and spiritually enriched.
STATE OF ST. JUDE SOCIETY IN NIGERIA
The St. Jude Society in Nigeria is doing well as a Pious Society and is among the recognised Lay Apostolate groups with the status of NEC membership of the National Laity Council of Nigeria. The membership of the St. Jude National Council is made up of Provincial Councils, arch/diocesan councils as represented by statutory delegates who hold the office of President, Secretary and Promoter. The current National executive council inherited an over nine-year old lingering boycott of two provinces which are the Onitsha and Owerri Provinces from the National Council since 2015. The grievances were noted and are being addressed by the new national council since assumption of office in August 2022 continuing from where the previous administrations stopped.
In the appointment of the current national chaplain, three names were suggested from Owerri archdiocese, Abeokuta diocese and St. Jude Apostolate, Yaba and the CBCN reviewed and appointed Rev. Fr. Dominic Mbomson, OP, the Director of the St. Jude Apostolate, Yaba who is a Religious of Dominican Order of Preachers and hails from Anambra State.
The National Council reached out to the Members of Onitsha and Owerri Provinces through their leadership and in conjunction with the national chaplain, a meeting was held in Awka in 2023 where assurances of returning to the national council was reached but without a definite date. We made the eastern brethren to understand that approval for a national shrine lies with the CBCN and at the appropriate time, we shall know the approved one in the country as several St. Jude Shrines exist across the country. That the location of a national secretariat depends on availability of facility and if any already exists, the documents should be forwarded to the national council for confirmation and onward notification of the CBCN.
We made them understand that appointment of a national chaplain is the task of the CBCN through the Pastoral Agents Department. We reiterated the fact that NEC meetings are rotated among the nine provinces and hosted by a diocese in that province. Election and spread of offices are done in recognition of provinces and not that a particular province will dominate and it is enshrined in our constitution. We assured them that the Constitution shall be reviewed and noted concerns shall be looked into and the constitution review is ongoing. We appreciate the recent meeting called by the archbishop of Onitsha and Chairman of Pastoral Agents Department, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke where he made certain pronouncements.
The National Council reacted to the pronouncements in a letter to the archbishop but we are yet to receive his response. We drew his attention to the fact that some of the pronouncements should meet to constitute a new national council could create chaos and lead to anarchy in the national council as it sounded like favoring two provinces against seven provinces in the country and we made some recommendations to him. Among his directives was a call for the National Chaplain to constitute a forum for all Provincial and arch/diocesan Chaplains in furtherance of the reconciliation process and we understand that they have started meeting in this regard. The national council was properly constituted through an election at the 4th national convention in August 2022 for a tenure of four years and is living up to expectationsย by participating in meetings and activities of the National Laity Council of Nigeria, presenting annual programme and annual report to the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria and attending seminars and trainings organized by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria for Chaplains and Lay leaders. We once again extend our invitation to the Onitsha and Owerri Provincial Councils to call off their boycott of over 9 years, dissolve their factional leadership and return to the national council for us to continue as one family of St. Jude Thaddeaus Society without any consequences. We want to advise also that boycott is not a legitimate means to express grievances in a Pious Society whose sole aim is to enhance the spirituality of members and we condemn the act instigated by a few members misleading a multitude of other members.
STATE OF THE NATION
The AGM held a time when cost of living in Nigeria is terribly high and it led to a reduction of number of delegates from five to one per Provinces, arch/dioceses and also to reduce the risk of exposing many members due to insecurity and bad state of our roads. We recognize and share in the pains that Nigerians are going through at the moment as a result of Government pronouncements and policies which has led to increased hardship and escalation of crime. We know that Government policies cannot be challenged but the effect of some policies cannot go un-noticed with untold hardships on the citizenry.
As Nigerians who share in the current pains inflicted by policies of government coupled with rising inflation and currency devaluation such that life is becoming meaningless in the country, we call on the Federal Government to do the needful by cushioning the effect of its policies and giving citizens hope of a better tomorrow a well as provide the basic needs of governance among which is security of lives of its citizenry.
HOPE IN GOD AND RESILIENCE IN TIMES OF PAIN
As Christians, Hope is one of our cardinal theological virtues and we implore our members to be resilient in times of pains. The difficult times calls for moments of retrospection and introspection and thinking out of the box. Our members should explore opportunities to create multiple streams of income and ensure survival of their families and for the privileged ones to give a helping hand to the less privileged ones.
Our Society will be better when we give helping hands as no man is an Island and in the spirit of the Catholic Social Teaching on Solidarity Principle.
RESOLUTIONS
โข We Shall continue to hold both Physical and virtual meetings until such a timethat we can afford to be holding physical meetings only. We shall also maintain it if it becomes a conformity with the new way of life.
โข We encourage arch/dioceses to promote Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious life and to support their training through the local Ordinary.
โข Formation of the Youth wing (Judites) should be promoted across the Countryas most of the members are adults and the elderly as this will ensure continuity of the Society across generations.
โข Weekly devotions should be attended physically by members at each Prayer Center and where possible, virtual devotions can also hold particularly for those in cities where movement can be challenging.
โข Novena prayers should hold according to the National Program of activities. We emphasize again that Novena should end on the eve of the feastday while thanksgiving Mass and burning of petitions should hold on the feastday proper.
โข Novena proceeds should be collected and shared in agreed proportions to be used for the propagation of the Society and the Councils.
โข Testimonies are encouraged and time should be given during devotions and particularly after Novena prayers for members to publicly mention how their petitions were granted as a means of encouragement to others still expecting answers to their petitions.
โข The national prayer book that is been reviewed shall be concluded and submitted for Imprimatur and printed for circulation in early part of 2025.
โข The next batch of new national uniforms shall be produced in the first quarter of 2025
CONCLUSION
The National Council is full of gratitude to the Bishop of Warri diocese who is the first bishop to officiate at the opening Mass of the St. Jude Annual General meeting and we donโt take his accessibility for granted. The Benin Provincial Council did wonderfully well in the planning and hosting of the 2024 AGM and it will leave lasting memories on the Province. The National Chaplain has been wonderful since his appointment and the presence of the Warri diocesan Chaplain all through the AGM made the atmosphere relaxing and engaging. St. Jude is a Patron Saint of Difficult and Impossible cases and we commit all our prayerful petitions through him to our Lord Jesus Christ who will grant answers in accordance with the Fatherโs will for us. Amen
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