Jos, 13 March, 2025 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Bishop Ayo-Maria Atoyebi, the emeritus of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Ilorin, who died on March 8 at the age of 80 is being remembered for his dutifulness and for being a “passionate” peace advocate.
Announcing “with great sadness but with faith in the resurrection of our Lord” the passing on of Bishop Atoyebi, his successor, Bishop Anselm Pendo Lawani, recognizes with appreciation the late Catholic Church leader’s qualities of “wisdom and compassion”.
“Bishop Ayo-Maria served our diocese with dedication, wisdom, and compassion from 1992 to 2019. During his tenure, he was a steadfast leader, a passionate advocate for peace and a devoted shepherd to his flock,” Bishop Lawani says about the late member of the Order of Friars Preachers, who resigned in June 2019 at the age of 74.
He says that after resigning from the pastoral care of the people of God in Ilorin Diocese, the late Bishop Atoyebi “continued to serve our diocese with grace and humility, offering guidance and counsel whenever needed.”
“We give thanks for his life, his ministry, and his unwavering commitment to our Lord and the Church,” the Local Ordinary of Ilorin since February 2024 says about his predecessor, who had the late Bishop Paul Adegboyega Olawoore as his immediate successor.
