Sisters from the Salesian Sisters in Sudan serve the poor and needy in the midst of a brutal war in Sudan. The sisters commiunity, Dar Mariam, has been a refuge for hundreds, though has damaged by gunfire and bombs. May 2024. / Credit: Father Ja… […]
Father Gabriel Ukeh was kidnapped from Nigeria’s Archdiocese of Kaduna on June 9, 2024. / Credit: Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna
ACI Africa, Jun 10, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Kaduna is appealing for prayers for the “urgent and safe release” of Father Gabriel Ukeh, who was abducted from a parish rectory on June 9.
On Monday, June 10, the chancellor of the archdiocese, Father Emmanuel Faweh Kazakh, shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, information that indicates Ukeh was taken from the rectory of St. Thomas Zaman Dabo Parish in the Kaduna Archdiocese in the early hours of Sunday.
Kazakh appealed to the Nigerian government to act on the rampant abductions of priests in the country.
“While we solicit for fervent prayers for his urgent and safe release, we equally condemn this act of incessant kidnappings for ransom of innocent and defenseless citizens of our communities, and we call upon the government to horn its security intelligence as we approach the celebration of Sallah [marking the end of Ramadan],” the chancellor said.
“As we work with security operatives for his quick release, we wish to call on all to stay away from taking the laws into their hands,” he continued. “We will use every legitimate means to ensure that Father comes back to us safe and sound.”
Kazakh offered this prayer: “Through the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Priests and Religious, may Jesus the crucified hearken to our prayers and hasten the unconditional release of his priest and every other abducted person.”
Nigeria has been battling a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom and, in some cases, murdering people.
An insurgency by Boko Haram, a group that allegedly aims to turn Africa’s most populous nation into an Islamic nation, has been a major challenge in the country since 2009.
The latest abduction of Ukeh follows a series of other kidnappings that have targeted members of the clergy in Nigeria. Father Oliver Buba, a priest of the Diocese of Yola, was abducted on May 21 and later released.
On May 15, the Archdiocese of Onitsha announced the abduction of Father Basil Gbuzuo. He was later set free.
This article was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Peace reigns inside Dar Mariam, the residence of the Salesian Sisters in Sudan despite the fact that it has been surrounded by heavy gunfire and bombed multiple times as war rages on in the northeastern African country. / Credit: Father Jacob Th… […]
A woman and a girl in Tigray walk with supplies. The founder and CEO of the global school-feeding charity Mary’s Meals visited northern Ethiopia in March and confirmed reports of a widespread hunger crisis unfolding rapidly in Tigray in the afte… […]
Pilgrims on their way to Ugandan Martyrs’ Day on May 21, 2024. / Credit: St. Joseph’s Cathedral of Kakamega Diocese
ACI Africa, May 25, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).
One of Africa’s — and the world’s — largest religious gatherings will take place on June 3 in Kampala, Uganda, and one group from Kenya has already begun its more than 200-mile pilgrimage to arrive for the yearly event.
Ugandan Martyrs Day this year will draw anywhere from 500,000 to millions of Catholics and other Christians from across the continent of Africa.
Pilgrims from the Nzoia Deanery of the Diocese of Kakamega are traveling to Uganda’s Namugongo Shrine, where the event takes place, bringing with them various prayer intentions — among them, “praying that more people may embrace, in faith and fidelity, the call of God in their respective lives,” according to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.
Blessed and sent off on Tuesday, May 21, by Father Columban Odhiambo, the parish priest of St. Joseph the Worker Kongoni Parish in the Kakamega Diocese, the pilgrims will cover 18-25 miles each day.
In an interview with ACI Africa, Odhiambo said the intention to pray for the growth of vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and marriage was inspired by a May 11 priestly ordination, which the Kenyan Deanery hosted at St. Mark’s Nzoia Parish in the Kakamega Diocese. Nine deacons were ordained priests — seven for the diocese and two for the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap).
The long pilgrimage to Namugongo, Odhiambo said, “is simply a spiritual journey. The pilgrims have personal intentions, and some have been given intentions by their parishes” to be included in their collective prayer intention.
The Kenyan pilgrims, who are being accompanied by two priests, had an opportunity to participate in the sacrament of confession and Mass before embarking on their spiritual journey to Namugongo. Along the way, they will meet dozens of other faithful walking from the Kakamega Diocese and, together, about 150 of them “will sing, pray the rosary, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and will go to confession,” Odhiambo told ACI Africa.
The priest said the deanery’s pilgrimage group of 19 is the largest number so far to make the pilgrimage. “Last year, we only had three,” he said.
The Namugongo Shrine in Uganda is one of the most popular sites on the northeast edge of the Archdiocese of Kampala. It is the site where St. Charles Lwanga and his companions were burned alive by the order of King Mwanga II of the Buganda kingdom.
The Ugandan Martyrs’ Day dates back to the first decade of Christian presence in the East African nation when 45 men between the ages of 14 and 50 years old were killed between Jan. 31, 1885, and Jan. 27, 1887, because they would not renounce their faith.
Twenty-two of the martyrs were beatified in 1920 and canonized in 1964.
This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Credit: Shutterstock
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