MBAISE CATHOLICISM BLOG

When the Catholic faith was first introduced by the Irish missionaries into the land of the great Mbaise people a little over 100 years ago, the people welcomed it, embraced it, cherished it and zealously guarded it. This same spirit has endured till this day. 

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The people who occupy the fairly expansive territory on the western bank of the great Imo River - a land which was named “Mba-Ise” [Five clans/peoples/nations] in 1941 by the British colonial masters, have always been known for their independence, personal enterprise, industry, strong religious devotion, adventurism and love of education. It was these characteristics of theirs among many others that made them a rich fodder for Catholic missionary evangelization at the dawn of the 20th century.

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Since its arrival in Mbaise land the Catholic faith has remained the most cherished treasure of the people of Mbaise. For the average Mbaise man and woman, one could take away everything they have but not their Catholic faith.  The Catholic Church with her rich tradition of devotions finds a natural home among the people of Mbaise.

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In fact, it can be said that the bond between the Catholic faith and Mbaise people is akin to a marriage made in heaven. It is a covenant relationship. It is forever unbreakable because the love of God endures forever.

This was how it all began.

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In 1914, Fr Daniel Walsh paid a visit to Umuopara, Nguru of the then Agbajah Clan, at the invitation of one Mr. Njoku Akpaka.  This ground-breaking visit played a decisive role in the evangelization of not only the Nguru community and Agbajah clan, but also the whole of the four other clans that would make up the Mbaise land. Sequel to this visit and other interactions, the first ever recorded holy Mass in Mbaise land was celebrated in the compound of Chief Anyamele of Ogbor Nguru in 1914.

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In 1916, Nnarambia and a few other out-stations outside of Nguru community were established. In appreciation of the generosity of the warrant Chief of Ahiara Kingdom, Chief Onyekwere, who made a donation of a vast piece of land to the missionaries, Nnarambia station was elevated to a nerve-centre of missionary activities in the territory of Mbaise and its environs.

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Consequently, in December 1933, St Brigid’s Station, Nnarambia Ahiara, was raised to the status of a Parish Centre with Rev. Fr. R. Foreman, C.S.Sp., as her first Parish Priest. With the arrival of the first resident Catholic parish priest in Mbaise land, the task to ensure a total evangelization of the Mbaise people was effectively launched.

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More than a decade after the establishment of the first Catholic centre in Mbaise in Nnarambia Ahiara, Our Lady of Victory Parish, Amumara in Ezinihitte Clan, was in 1947 erected in Amumara community - the very heart of the protestant stronghold in Mbaise, with Rev. Fr. James O’Toole, C.S.Sp., as her first parish priest.

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The following year, 1948, two more parishes were opened up in Mbaise, namely, St Patrick’s Parish, Ekwerazu in Ekwerazu Clan, and Sacred Heart Parish, Nguru, in Agbajah Clan, with Rev. Fr. J. Diagnan, C.S.Sp., and Rev. Fr. Anthony Stiegler, C.S.Sp., as their parish priests respectively.

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In 1954, St Charles' Parish, Enyiogugu in Agbajah Clan, was inaugurated with Rev. Fr. M.J. Gilmore, C.S.Sp., as her first parish priest. Three years later, St. Dominic’s Parish, Ezinihitte East in Ezinihitte Clan, was erected in 1957. Rev. Fr. F.T. Flanagan, C.S.Sp., was appointed her first parish priest.

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Finally, with the erection of Holy Ghost Parish, Uvuru, in Oke-Ovoro Clan in 1959, every one of the original five clans that constituted Mbaise district: Ahiara, Ekwerazu, Agbajah, Ezinihitte and Oke-Ovoro, was gifted with at least one parish.  That became a clear indication that Catholicism had gained the upper hand in the Mbaise area.

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With the five clans of Mbaise fully established in Catholicism then came the period of putting out into the deep water for the consolidation of the faith. From the early period the Catholic Church in Mbaise continued to record a steady and consistent growth.

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On Wednesday, November 18, 1987, the Mbaise area was carved out from Owerri Diocese as a local Church called Ahiara Diocese, Mbaise, with her Cathedral name as Mater Ecclesiae [Mary, Mother of the Church].

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The new diocese had a recorded population of more than 270,000 Catholics spread out unevenly in the nineteen parishes.

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On Wednesday, January 06, 1988, His Excellency, Most Rev, Victor Adibe Chikwe, [JCD, DD], was ordained in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, by His Holiness, Pope St. John Paul II, as the first Catholic Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara, Mbaise.

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On Sunday, January 31, 1988, the new Diocese of Ahiara was inaugurated at Ahiara with the installation of Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe by His Excellency, Archbishop Paul Tabet, Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria.

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Since the inauguration of Ahiara Diocese, Mbaise area has exploded with the Catholic faith. Now, the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara, Mbaise, has grown into 73 parishes and counting with an estimated Catholic population at home numbering more than half a million. It is being served by more than 210 incardinated priests.

 

Mbaise Catholic population in Diaspora is projected to be more than four hundred thousand.  

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The number of religious priests as estimated during the centenary celebration of the Catholic Church in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province in 2012 numbered around 500 priests. The number of Mbaise women in religious life numbered more than 1,000 according to the diocesan and provincial centenary estimates of 2012.

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On the 16th day of September, 2010, Ahiara Diocese lost her premier bishop, Most Rev Victor Adibe Chikwe to the cold hands of death after nealy 23 years of humble and dynamic services as her diocesan chief shepherd.

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For a period of nearly three years [2010 -2012], Ahiara Diocese was shepherded by an administrator in the person of Rt. Rev. Msgr. Theophilus Akujobi Nwalo.

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But on December 7, 2012, the formerly peaceful and joyous Diocese of the Mbaise people, Catholic Diocese of Ahiara, was thrown into a deep crisis and confusion with the inexplicable announcement of Msgr. Peter Ebere Okpalaeke of Awka Diocese in Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province as her bishop-elect and a successor to the deceased Bishop Victor Chikwe.

 

Because of the crisis and confusion that ensued, the bishop-elect, Msgr. Okpalaeke was ordained a bishop at Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Ulakwo, Owerri, on May 21, 2013.

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To shepherd the diocese and administer the sacraments to the people during the interim period of the crisis, His Holiness, Pope Francis, appointed His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese on the 3rd of July, 2013.

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Mbaise land, nick-named the “Ireland of Nigeria” by the Irish Holy Ghost Fathers, who brought the Catholic faith to her, has always been blessed with abundance of vocations to the effect that her sons and daughters serve as missionaries in all continents of the world today.

 

The laity that makes up the diocese is among the very best and the most vibrant throughout the world.  God has indeed blessed Mbaise land.

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Despite the crisis and confusion of the present time, Mbaise Catholicism looks towards her future with great optimism. The dangerous head wind brought about by the sudden death of Bishop Victor Chikwe will eventually be stilled by Jesus Christ the Master of stormy Seas. And then the great Catholic Diocese of the Mbaise people will bounce back to once again embrace her bright and promising future. 

 

The general consensus in Mbaise land is that the Catholic faith of the Mbaise people will continue to be in full bloom until the Lord returns. 

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The Blessed Mother Mary, whose sacred name is lent to the Diocese, will always intercede for the success and triumph of the Catholic faith in Mbaise land. To God, the ever faithful and ever merciful, be glory and praise now and forever. Amen.