EPISCOPAL ORDINATION

(Maiduguri – 7 July 2022)

1. On 26 October 2017, I first visited Maiduguri’s Diocese for the first time to ordain some priests in Mubi. Two years later, on 12 July 2019, I had the joy of dedicating the renovated Cathedral of this Diocese, whose Administrator was Rev. Fr. John BognaBakeni, who will today be ordained Bishop, having been appointed by Pope Francis – in communion with whom we perform this solemn rite – as the first Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Maiduguri.

New priests, a renovated cathedral, the first Auxiliary Bishop: are these not signs of the development of your Diocese in recent years? And all this, although for several years in this area, you have been suffering from attacks, killings, violence, insecurity, destruction, population dispersion, and economic and communication difficulties. These problematic, sometimes dramatic conditions make the growth of the Diocese of Maiduguri even more evident. For this, we want to thank the Lord and recognise: Misericordiae Domini, quia non sumusconsumpti– Mercy of the Lord, because we are not consumed(Lam 3:22). Indeed by His Grace, you have grown! Therefore, dear faithful of the Diocese of Maiduguri, you have a valid reason to rejoice, hope, and believe that when you are united to the Cross of Jesus, you bear much fruit, as He said of Himself and us!

For my part, I wish to congratulate dear Bishop Oliver, his priests, consecrated persons and all the faithful because you have welcomed and collaborated with divine Grace. I also greet the authorities of the Borno State and the representatives of the other religious denominations: Catholics respect everyone, hate no one, pray for the whole of society and are ready to collaborate with everyone for the true good of each person, whatever ethnic group, religion or place they belong.

2. Before beginning the rite of episcopal ordination – which by its words and gestures illustrates who the bishop is and what his mission is and should therefore be followed with great attention – I invite you to reflect precisely on the reality of the growth of the Church. This is, in fact, something we must all collaborate on, but especially the new Bishop, whom the Pope has given as an aid to Bishop Oliver precisely to make this Diocese grow.

Reflection on this theme should not seem strange if we think that the Lord Jesus Himself, especially in some of His parables, explained how the Kingdom of God develops, and this Kingdom is “already present in mystery” (LG 3) in the Church. “Christ already reigns over Christians, and thus the Church already is the kingdom of Christ. By bringing the Gospel everywhere, she also brings herself and thus expands the confines of the kingdom/reigning of Christ” (M. Gagliardi). Thus Jesus’ parables on the Kingdom of God also speak of the growth of the Church.

I recall in particular three parables from the Gospel according to Matthew – those of the weed, the mustard seed and the leaven – which are called “parables of growth” and give us important criteria for understanding such growth. 1) According to the parable of the mustard seed, the kingdom of God on earth was initially identified with Jesus himself, who is the grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died. “From that fallen grain was born… the Church. She… becomes, in a short time, a gigantic tree that spreads its branches over the whole known world. Whole peoples, like birds, come to rest on its branches; they receive Baptism and become, themselves, branches of the tree” (R. Cantalamessa). 2) The parable of the leaven illustrates the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth, not so much in extension as in intensity. That Kingdom possesses within itself a great transforming power that can renew everything. “Jesus spoke of the fermentation of the Kingdom, that is, of the profound conversion of the nations and assigned to it the following causes: the Holy Spirit, His grace, the action of evangelisation entrusted to the Church” (G. Siri). 3) Finally, Jesus teaches that the world and the Church are like a field, in which wheat and weeds grow together, that is, good and evil. “We are all… weeds, destined, if we want it, to become children of light and good wheat” (R. Cantalamessa), thanks to God’s patience and mercy towards us.

These parables of the Gospel tell us that “the Kingdom of God may seem like a small thing or the fruits may be slow in coming, but two things are certain: the intrinsic power of the Kingdom and thecertaintyin the final triumph” (Bible of Navarra). This is the basis of our hope when considering the progress of the Church’s growth. However, “the important thing is that we do not lower ourselves to assuming worldly methods, but only make our own those of Jesus Christ” (G. Siri).

3. It is necessary to understand well what is meant by “growth of the Church”, in what sense and in what way this growth is realised, not thinking of it according to merely human criteria and resorting only to earthly means to achieve it.

In this regard, we can recall what Pope St. Paul VI taught in the “Creed of the People of God”. He states that the true growth of the Kingdom of God “cannot be confounded with the progress of civilisation, of science or of human technology, but that it consists in an ever more profound knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, an ever more ardent response to the love of God, and an ever more generous bestowal of grace and holiness among men” (n. 27). Christian life and the Church grow not so much because we have at our disposal many material means and structures, abundant riches, a vast culture, power, prestige and fame.Indeed, material means are needed, but they must never obscure the supernatural dimension of the Church’s life and action. Shetruly grows if her members grow in faith, which is “the knowledgeof the unfathomable riches of Christ”. Shetruly grows if her members grow in hope, which is the expectation and preparation of eternal life. She truly grows if her members grow in their response to the love with which God loves us, the love He instils in our hearts and of which we must be imitators. The Church truly grows if she and all her members offer to everyone ever more abundantly “grace and holiness”.

This does not mean an escape from the problems of this world, as some claim, to the point of convincing even some children of the Church of this. Instead, it is a matter of having it clear that such problems can only be solved starting from God. As St. Paul VI states, it is rather charity “which induces the Church to concern herself constantly about the true temporal welfare of men”. Indeed, “the Christian’s temporal task must be not a humanist love, but charity (agape), which is always theological and primarily theocentric” (C. Pozo). Although therefore, the Church urges her children “to contribute, each according to his vocation and his means, to the welfare of their earthly city, to promote justice, peace and brotherhood among men, to give their aid freely to their brothers, especially to the poorest and most unfortunate” (Creed, n. 27), she does not cease “to recall to her children that they have not here a lasting dwelling”. Woe if the Church, under the pretext of being more involved and effective in promoting the good of humanity, does not help everyone to remember andwork to achieve the true purpose of human life, which is eternal communion with God! Concern for earthly needs “can never mean that the Church conform herself to the things of this world, or that she lessen the ardour of her expectation of her Lord and the eternal Kingdom”.”The Church’s proximity to earthly problems is not an end in itself. The Church’s ultimate intention is “to enlighten men with the light of Christ and gather them all into Him, their only Saviour”. If the Church does not offer the world this, which she alone possesses, in reality, she would have nothing to offer” (C. Pozo).

Therefore, true growth of the Church occurs when the eternal and earthly dimensions are not opposed and mutually excluded but are kept connected and interdependent, knowing that the primacy always belongs to God and eternal life.

4. This vision must always accompany Bishop John in his ministry, but it must also always be the vision with which the priests and faithful relate to him. If everyone is always clear about how the Church grows in the world, the danger of misunderstanding the Bishop and his mission, considering him a political leader, a tribal chief, a manager, a social leader, and expecting from him what he cannot and must not give, perhaps forgetting that he brings above all spiritual and eternal goods, will be avoided. In short, the new Bishop and all the members of the Diocese of Maiduguri should look at each other with “the eyes of Jesus,…his vision” (Francis, Lumen Fidei, 21), that is, with true faith. Then, all together, under the guidance of Bishop Oliver, you will be able to continue to grow in Christian life and make the Church grow in this part of Nigeria.

Your cathedral is dedicated to St Patrick, the great apostle of Ireland, the country from which generous missionaries came here, whose memory is still blessed among you and whose example of zeal and sacrifice must always inspire all, especially priests and consecrated persons. May you repeat in truth the words we read in St Patrick’s Confession, which show the power that an authentic vision of faith possesses: “Every day there is the chance that I will be killed, or surrounded, or be taken into slavery, or some other such happening. But I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of almighty God, who is the ruler of all places” (n. 55).

Invoking the Virgin Mary and the Saints – in particular, St. Patrick and all the Holy Bishops – we ask for our brother John and all of us a profound vision of faith about our life and the Church, so that in this Church we may grow in holiness and spend ourselves to hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God.