Priest’s death changes tone of Nigerian bishop’s visit

Nigerian Bishop Augustine Toochukwu Ukwuoma, second from right, dines with Deacon David French and his wife Karen (left) and Father Theo Okpara, during a fellowship meal celebrating Bishop Ukwuoma's May 24 visit to Lake Village.
Nigerian Bishop Augustine Toochukwu Ukwuoma, second from right, dines with Deacon David French and his wife Karen (left) and Father Theo Okpara, during a fellowship meal celebrating Bishop Ukwuoma's May 24 visit to Lake Village.

LAKE VILLAGE — A joyous pastoral visit took a somber turn for Nigerian Bishop Augustine Toochukwu Ukwuoma days before he was to head to Arkansas to visit five Nigerian priests serving in the state from his home diocese.

Bishop Ukwuoma’s original plans were to spend time in Lake Village to visit with Father Theophilus Okpara, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Village, Holy Cross Church in Crossett and Holy Spirit Church in Hamburg, as well as the other priests. However, one of those priests, Father Linus Ukomadu, pastor in Cherokee Village and Horseshoe Bend, suffered a massive stroke May 20 and died a day later.

Father Okpara met the bishop at the Little Rock airport as planned May 23, but Msgr. Francis I. Malone, chancellor of ecclesial affairs, informed Bishop Ukwuoma of Father Ukomadu’s death. Father Okpara said Bishop Ukwuoma had spoken by phone with Father Ukomadu two days prior to the priest’s death.

Bishop Ukwuoma was saddened by the news but accepted it with understanding, saying, “That is life. That is what life is. You obsess if you take only the good from God; you also have to take the bad from God.” He continued, saying, “That is life and nothing happens without a reason. God has a reason for making it happen this way.”

His first two days in Arkansas were spent taking part in the funeral liturgies at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock May 23 and St. Michael Church in Cherokee Village May 24.

As bishop of Orlu, Nigeria, he was making his second visit to Arkansas. His first visit to Arkansas was in 2008 when he came to visit with Father Ukomadu when he was pastor of St. Mary Church in Arkadelphia and St. John the Baptist Church in Malvern.

The trips to Arkansas are designed as a show of support for his priests and to assess their needs, Bishop Ukwuoma said.

“I look at what is the need, I have to support the needs. I have to go see what they need and how they are faring, so I look at what I think is the need of the priest,” he said.

On Saturday evening, May 24, the bishop arrived with Father Okpara in Lake Village where the bishop celebrated Mass. Following Mass, Our Lady of the Lake parishioners hosted a meal in the fellowship hall, serving their famous spaghetti with homemade sauce and meatballs along with bread, salad and angel food cake topped with a lemon filling and whipped cream.

Father Mark Abban, pastor of St. Mark Parish in Monticello, joined them for dinner.

Parishioners were excited to meet the bishop and spent time welcoming him following the meal. Their friendliness impressed him, as did the weather.

“I like the weather. The weather is like home, he said. “The friendly people. I am impressed. The churches are well orthodox, so I am really impressed with what I have seen.  We just had this Mass here and the reception. This is wonderful. They are warm people. They are good people and I am happy that they appreciate what my priest is doing. The number of people who have said to me they want to keep him. I am real impressed.”

Lending priests to Arkansas is a chance for the Catholics in Nigeria to feel as though they are giving something back, Bishop Ukwuoma said. He said he appreciates the “mutual relationship” between his diocese and the Arkansas diocese.

“I want to add that I am pleased and satisfied with the mission cooperation with the diocese of Little Rock and the diocese of Orlu, Nigeria, the cooperation that we are able to send priests here to serve,” he said. “It is a mutual relationship. So I am satisfied with that. I am happy our priests are able to come west to evangelize. We feel like we are able to give back, like we are giving back, we are happy to be able to do that.”

The other Nigerian priests in Arkansas from Orlu are Father Chuma Ibebuike of Russellville, Father Oliver Ochieze of Fairfield Bay and Father Nazarus Maduba of Altus. Father Pius Iwu, a diocesan priest in Fort Smith, is formerly from Orlu.

Though the trip to Arkansas had its dark moments, it was a break from the sadness and turmoil in Nigeria with the kidnapping of nearly 300 school girls April 15 by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram. Catholics there dedicated a national holy hour and individual parishes are praying daily. 

“(In May) the bishops’ conference requested every parish to have a holy hour with the intention of the welfare and rescue of each one of those girls and encouraged dioceses and  parishes to keep praying, keep celebrating Masses or to do anything extra, so each parish is involved. We are praying for them every day at Mass and the holy hour. The whole country, the parishes and the bishops are going to meet soon with additional instructions on what to do.”

“The national holy hour (has been) already, and then we pray every day, celebrating Masses, saying rosaries, holy hour will continue until the release of these children,” he said.  “We all, very sad about these events, we are sad that people can do that to young girls preventing them from going to school. It‘s a horrible thing happening. We are very concerned about their fate, what is happening to them. Are they abused? We don’t know. We are just kind of, we’re all worried.”

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