With the passing of Bishops Ayo-Maria Atoyebi (Ilorin), Francis Okobo (Nsukka), and now Michael Fagun (Ekiti), the Catholic Church in Nigeria has, in this year alone, watched with a mix of gratitude and nostalgia as a remarkable generation of bishops takes a final bow. These were men who directly succeeded the missionaries and, in many cases, were the first indigenous shepherds of their dioceses. Their departure marks not merely the end of long lives but the closing of a significant chapter in the history of our local Church.
These ‘churchmen’ bore the weight of a growing Church on their shoulders. They made sacrifices and worked tirelessly in building not only cathedrals, schools, hospitals, and seminaries, but also communities of faith, hope, and discipline. Their pastoral style though sometimes strict and traditional, reflected a depth of conviction shaped by sacrifice and direct contact with the early struggles of evangelization in Africa.
These men knew where we came from as a Church. They understood the price that was paid and carried within their hearts the sacrifices and wisdom of those formative years. As they gradually leave the stage, what fades with them is a kind of wisdom and lived experience that cannot be fully captured in manuals or archives. When they go, part of our collective memory goes with them.
The Church in Nigeria owes this fading generation a deep debt of gratitude – for their selflessness, their sacrifices, their vision, and their steadfast faith. As we bid them farewell, one after another, let us continue to draw counsel from those still among us.
May the seeds they have sown continue to bear fruit in a new and demanding era of leadership in the Church – one rooted in the same enduring love for Christ and His Church.
Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch