“Here I am, willing and ready to serve just like Jesus”: Newly Consecrated Catholic Bishop in Nigeria

Bishop Ifeanyichukwu lauded the Local Ordinary of Orlu Diocese, Bishop Augustine Tochukwu Ukwuoma, for his generous service to the people of God under his pastoral care, and described him as “a Bishop after God’s heart and a gift of God to man.”

Ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Orlu in August 1995, Bishop Ifeanyichukwu was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Nigerian Diocese on January 5.

In his homily during the March 20 Episcopal Ordination, Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah of Nigeria’s Nsukka Diocese said he found it ironical that Christians were being “associated” with violent conflicts and other “inhuman behaviour”, which have resulted in displacement of people.

He said, “It is an irony that Orlu faithful who are predominantly Christians and Catholics should be associated with killings and all manners of inhuman behaviour leading to people fleeing the area when there is no established war going on in Nigeria.”

He challenged the people of God in Orlu Diocese to be part of the solution to the perceived insecurity and moral reengineering that will restore the Nigerian Diocese that covers Imo State to its past glory of peace.

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Bishop Onah invited the newly Consecrated Auxiliary Bishop to brace up to the responsibility of leading the people of God to Him. 

On his part, the Principal Consecrator, Bishop Tochukwu thanked all who honoured the invitation to participate in the ordination event. 

The Local Ordinary of Orlu Diocese thanked Pope Francis for approving his request for an Auxiliary Bishop “to assist him to manage the Diocese that is growing and expanding every day.”

Bishop Ifeanyichukwu is to assist 70-year-old Bishop Tochukwu in serving the people of God in the 929 square-kilometer Episcopal See.

Bishop Tochukwu has been at the helm of the Nigerian Diocese since June 2008. Erected in November 1980, Orlu Diocese that is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Owerri has a population of 1,200,000 Catholics, according to 2021 statistics.