Father Vincent “Udo” Ogbuji is considered a miracle patient.
Three years ago the native of Nigeria was involved in a serious car wreck on the road from Heber Springs to Searcy. As a result he damaged his neck and spinal cord. After two months of surgeries and rehabilitation, he was assigned as associate pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock on March 13, 2007. The parish renovated a rental home across the street from the church for him. He was given a limited schedule in order to fit in the hours of personal care and physical and occupational therapy he needed to build up and maintain his strength.
“No one ever expected I would improve as much as I did,” he said in an interview with Arkansas Catholic March 4. “For me, I never had any expectations. I was just working doing what it takes to get me well. I was hopeful.”
Father Ogbuji said he has lived by the saying: “Pray like everything depends on God; work like everything depends on you.” He will continue to follow this motto as he moves on to his newest assignment as chaplain for the Benedictine sisters at Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro.
Prioress Sister Mary Anne Nuce, OSB, said the priest should be comfortable and well taken care of in his new home. They have painted and cleaned the bishop’s two-room suite at the convent for Father Ogbuji. The bathroom’s shower is now handicap accessible and a ramp was added leading up to the altar.
Father Ogbuji will say daily Mass, hear confessions and anoint the sick. He will also teach some of the classes for the novices. Sister Mary Anne said the schedule will leave him plenty of time for daily exercises, which is required to maintain his muscle tone.
Father Ogbuji will be the first priest in the past 35 years to serve at the convent who is not a Benedictine priest. He is replacing Father Richard Cleary, OSB, who is retiring to his abbey in Conception, Mo.
When Father Ogbuji, 41, is not celebrating a daily or weekend Mass, hearing confessions or offering spiritual direction in Little Rock, he can often be found working with one of his volunteer therapists or exercising on his rehabilitation bike.
“When I am not reading or cooking, I will ride the bike or do the step machine or the weights,” he said. “Just for the bike alone it is one hour, sometimes one hour, 20 minutes.”
He has about 10 pieces of workout equipment, including an elliptical machine and weight bench, filling the living room at the house he shares with associate pastor Father Michael Bass. Much of the equipment he owned before he was injured.
“I already knew the benefits of working out and staying in shape. So it comes naturally,” he said. “Of course, the more I do it the stronger I get. A year before I wasn’t able to stand as much as I am standing now. … Every day I have to do something. When I skip, that is when I found out that it is easy to lose (muscle) … The lighter I am, the better it is for me.”
Two weeks ago, two of his therapists got him on the elliptical machine and he stood.
“The two therapists said, ’You said this is what you wanted for your goal.’ I got on it and with them supervising I was able to do it,” he said.
With the assistance of a walker or crutches, “I walk around here… About a year and a half ago I couldn’t ride the bike. Now I am able to ride with my legs without any aid. I am able to stand for at least 40 minutes without sitting. I have been able to improve.”
Does he think he will ever walk unassisted?
“I consider it a blessing other than what I have now. I am happy with what I have got so far,” he said.
The parishioners and friends he has inspired over the past three years will be sad to see him leave Little Rock.
“He’s an inspiration to me,” Dan Wojcik said. “I hate to see him go. It’s greedy for me to want him to be here.”
Father Ogbuji said it is Wojcik who is inspirational. He volunteered to clean the priest’s house on a weekly basis with a group of women.
“After all of the women left me, he would still come,” Father Ogbuji said with a laugh. “He inspired me with his humility. He’s so giving and humble about it. He makes it so easy to give. He prays for me every day to get well and it is working.”
He said he is grateful to Christ the King parishioners who welcomed him. Pastor Msgr. Francis I. Malone often told parishioners they “saved the priesthood” of Father Ogbuji.
“If I didn’t get the help and the care and the love, I probably wouldn’t have recovered to work some place … Obviously the people are so generous and loving. They did it with so much grace, dedication and smiles. They just accepted me and embraced me with two hands. They did it lavishly. The love was so lavishly given. You could not but see the love and sacrifice that comes from the heart.”
When Father Ogbuji first came to Arkansas in 1999, he had been a priest for less than two years and he was expecting to stay in the United States for only three to six years. He was able to see his mother and siblings during month-long visits to Africa. Until he is able to walk, it is unlikely he will ever be able to go to Nigeria again. He has not seen his mother in three years, but two of his sisters live in the United States.
“I am still living in the present,” he said.
Father Ogbuji said he was in total agreement when Bishop Anthony B. Taylor asked him to become the convent’s chaplain.
“I will do anything the bishop tells me. … I was happy to be asked even though I wasn’t expecting it, and I was humbled. I will be happy if I am of help,” he said.
Father Ogbuji, who began his new assignment March 15, visited the convent in late February and got to meet some of the sisters. Even though he will live and work at the convent, his ministry will spread wherever the sisters go and work.
“I will provide for their spiritual needs,” he said. “If they are happy and joyful, young girls will want to join and accept that life. When you minister to one nun, it is like ministering to many thousands of people because they reach more people.”
He will surely keep his sense of humor as he works in Jonesboro.
“I was picking on all of the nuns,” he said of his visit. “Some were walking with walkers. I told one of them, ’When I come, we will race to see who gets to the cafeteria first.’ I told them I was going to be visiting with the older ones. I said, ’When I am with the older people, I feel wiser.’”
