August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com
OUR PARISHESI
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At top, Father Joseph Kalu Oji from the Diocese of Raleigh (center) prays the Eucharistic Prayer during a Mass said in Igbo July 20 at St. Mary Church in Greensboro. Concelebrating the Mass was Father Michael Ukpong from Germany (right), and assisting at Mass was newly-ordained Deacon Emmanuel Ukattah of St. Mary Parish (left). Above, Deacon Ukattah greets the youngest Igbo Catholics after Mass at St. Mary Church. At left, worshippers exchange the sign of peace. Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald
The July 20 liturgy celebrated in Igbo was a traditional Mass of thanksgiving following the wedding of Chika Nwankwo to Joseph Kadiri of Houston, Texas. Their traditional Igbo wedding was held on Friday in Greensboro, and the Western-style “white wedding” was celebrated at St. Mary Church on Saturday. Nwankwo was married in the same church where her parents, Dr. Herbert and Cordelia Nwankwo, had wed decades ago.
Below, a cantor chants the Responsorial Psalm in Igbo. The response, “ Lord, you are good and forgiving,” translates into Igbo as “Onyenweanyi i di ebere dikwa mgbaghara.”
Special Mass in Greensboro is prayer for future growth for Igbo Catholics Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor
GREENSBORO — They came to offer their prayers and the fruits of their labor. They came to worship God as a community and to give thanks for His blessings. It was just like any other Mass – except this one was celebrated in Igbo. Igbo (pronounced “EE-boo”) is the native language of a group of Nigerian Catholics who call the Diocese of Charlotte home. Originally from eastern Nigeria, these families have settled in the diocese, some decades ago, some more recently. All value their Catholic faith and believe the Igbo Mass at St. Mary Church in Greensboro July 20 was an important part of preserving the heritage of their homeland. The Igbo Mass – or “Misa N’asusu Igbo” (“meesa en-asoosoo EE-boo”) – brought together more than 100 Nigerian Catholics, many of whom donned traditional garb with the men wearing dashikis and women wearing elaborate headscarves called ichafus (“ee-CHAH-foos”). Part worship, part cultural celebration, the Mass was offered in thanksgiving for a former St. Mary parishioner who was married Saturday at the church. The Mass was celebrated by Spiritan Father Joseph Kalu Oji from the Diocese of Raleigh, and concelebrated by visiting priest Father Michael Ukpong from Germany. Both priests encouraged local Igbo Catholics to work together in building up their community and celebrating their shared heritage. The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria has about 30 million Igbos, making it the third largest ethnic group in their home nation and the most heavily Christian. Catholics make up about a quarter of the Christian population in Nigeria, an estimated 21 million people. In his homily, Father Ukpong implored people to heed the warning of the Parable of the Weeds in the day’s
Gospel reading from Matthew (13:24-43), a meaningful message for the Igbo community as it grows. He encouraged people to be mindful of their actions, always striving to follow the example of Jesus, and always working for the betterment of others in the Church and in their community. “Only at the last will God gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them somewhere. And He will gather the good wheat in His barn. It is up to each and every one of us to decide what we want to do, where we want to belong. Do you want to be the weed and be gathered into everlasting fire at the end of your life? Or will you make efforts to repent, to be the good seed that is gathered into God’s barn?” “Please, please,” he entreated, “don’t let yourself be the weed in God’s farm.” Father Oji noted after Mass that he has met with local Igbo Catholics and encouraged them to be united in their efforts. Just as St. Paul once told the Ephesians, Father Oji said, “Your words must be those that build up, not those that pull down. Unless you can maintain that, you will destroy yourselves as you are starting to come up.” “Be sincere to God, be sincere to yourselves, be sincere as to your motive in asking to celebrate this Mass in your language,” he continued. “It is a blessing – don’t let it become a curse.” Father Oji serves as the chaplain for the Igbo community in the Diocese of Raleigh, which also has a chapter of the national group, the Igbo Catholic Community USA. The Igbo Catholic Community USA is an outgrowth of the U.S. bishops’ African/Caribbean Apostolate in the Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees. Like any other ethnic organization, it aims to organize Nigerian Catholics on the same model of other ethnic communities in the U.S. Church. Igbo Catholics here in the Charlotte diocese hope eventually to follow in Raleigh’s footsteps to establish their own more formalized group, they said after Mass.
More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See video highlights from the Igbo Mass at St. Mary Church At www.iccusaweb.org: Learn more about the Igbo Catholic Community USA
They were energized after the 2011 visit of Cardinal Francis Arinze, an Igbo who is also the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Cardinal Arinze was a keynote speaker at the 2011 Eucharistic Congress in Charlotte, and during his visit he challenged them to join together and celebrate their heritage. Since then, the Igbo community of 40 to 50 families at St. Mary Parish, and others from elsewhere in the diocese, has been working towards that goal. Igbo, SEE page 17