“Be steadfast at all times”: Catholic Bishop in Nigeria Urges Clergy to Remain Faithful to God’s Calling, Service

Nsukka, 25 September, 2025 / 11:33 AM

Members of the Clergy have the responsibility to live their calling of teaching the faith and guiding God’s people in virtue without giving up, even when they are misunderstood or mistreated for carrying out their sacred duty, the Bishop of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Idah has said.

In his homily during the funeral Mass of the late Bishop Francis Emmanuel Ogbonna Okobo of Nsukka Diocese on Tuesday, September 23, Bishop Anthony Ademu Adaji cautioned the Clergy against allowing suffering become a source of discouragement in their ministry and apostolate.

“Like good parents who struggle to bring up their children, Bishops and Priests who pour out their lives for the salvation of their flock are no strangers to pain and suffering. Be steadfast at all times,” said Bishop Adaji during the event at St. Theresa’s Cathedral of the Child Jesus in Nsukka Diocese.

He urged the members of the Clergy to draw inspiration from the example of St. Paul, noting that the Apostle endured suffering and was a servant of God “who lived for Christ and had no regrets about living for Him.”

“May we, the ministers of Christ today, never regret our vocation and the services we render in His name. He is the rewarder of all His faithful servants,” Bishop Adaji said, and added, “Today, the Lord is here honoring His servant, Bishop Francis Okobo.”

He continued, “This is not an empty promise. Jesus never deceives. By His own life, He showed that death leads to life—for just as a grain of wheat must die to bear fruit, so too does sacrifice bring forth abundant life.”

In his September 13 homily, the Local Ordinary of Idah Diocese, since June 2009, reflected on his more than 17 years of close encounter with the pioneer Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, who passed on August 29 at the age of 88.

He eulogized the late Nigerian Bishop as a man of “magnetic charity”, who lived by faith and died in faith. “This faith propelled his pastoral actions both before and after his retirement,” he said, noting that the late Bishop’s faith in Christ continued to grow stronger despite the gradual decline of his health.

The member of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul of Nigeria (MSP) went on to pay tribute to the late Catholic Church leader for his appreciation of the gift of Priesthood, which he said was evident in both his spiritual and pastoral life.

“The love of Bishop Okobo for the Priesthood was never in doubt,” he said, recalling the Bishop’s answer when he asked him if he regretted being a priest.

He said, “In one of my visits to the Bishop in his retirement home, I asked him, do you have any regret being a Priest? He smiled and said, ‘If it were possible to be born again in the flesh, I would still be a Priest and I would do all over what I have done.’”

"His words were both soothing and encouraging. Those were the words of a priest who loved the Priesthood and offered everything he had for its cause. That Bishop Okobo was truly a Priest cannot be disputed,” he said.

The late Nigerian Bishop Emeritus was ordained to the Priesthood for the West African nation’s Catholic Diocese of Enugu in June 1966 at the age of 29 and served as a Priest for 54 years.

He served as the Local Ordinary of the Nsukka Diocese for 34 years, following his Episcopal Ordination in January 1991, which was presided over by Pope John Paul II.