In a rare tribute in honour of the late Very Rev. Fr. Benjamin Bello, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos has described the deceased priest as a shining star that has returned to the sky. Cardinal Okogie said this in a tribute he dedicated to Fr. Bello, tagged, “A shining star has returned to the sky. We shall mourn no more because we know one day we shall meet to depart no more.” According to Cardinal Okogie, Fr. Bello was an easy going gentleman, who was not interested in mundane things, as he added that he only property he was attached to were his books, as her never missed an opportunity to buy a book every time he visited the bookstore. Cardinal Okogiie said: “He became a walking encyclopedia with an incredibly fast knowledge of the Church. “Seeing Fr. Bello from afar with his facial expression, one will conclude that he is a strict and unapproachable priest, but on closer look, one would discover that he has a good sense of humour and conversations with him were never boring. “He modelled himself as a priest after Christ. His gesture and comportment and liturgical functions were excellent. He in no way joked with prayers and endevoured to make others know the importance of prayers.”
Cardinal Okogie said that no matter what life threw at him, Fr. Bello never backed down, adding that he remained a priest till the very end. According to the Cardinal, “Fr. Bello was an ardent lover of sacred liturgy, always correcting liturgical aberrations at Mass and liturgical functions. Whenever Fr. Bello presides at Mass, everyone adjusts because he does not compromise with regard to doing the right thing at liturgical functions. He had the understanding of most parishes within the Archdiocese even without operating there. This he did by getting their bulletins and studied it which gives him an idea of the parish. “Fr. Benjamin Bello was born in Onitsha, Anambra State on April 4, 1936. He is a native of Sabongida-Ora, Edo State in the Diocese of Auchi. At his father’s retirement from the Forestry Department of the civil service, the family moved back to Edo State where the young Benjamin had his elementary education. “In 1950 he took his first entrance exam and the following year enrolled at St. Gregory’s College, Obalende, Lagos. Among his class mates are the late Msgr. Michael Omisesan and myself, Anthony Cardinal Okogie. From St. Gregory’s College he nurtured the interest of going to the seminary. He even spoke about how Fr. Moran gave him a book titled “How to be happy, how to be holy.” He eventually entered the seminary and became a priest. “Very Rev. Fr. Benjamin Bello was a priest of Lagos Archdiocese, a PhD holder in sacred liturgy.
He served in various parishes and held offices in and outside the Archdiocese of Lagos; he was seconded to Port Harcourt and Benin Archdioceses and returned to St. Augustine’s College of Education at Akoka, Lagos. He lived at St. Joseph’s College, Surulere until his retirement when he moved to St. Agnes, Maryland where he lived till his death.” Archbishop Emeritus prayed, “Adieu Very Rev. Fr. Bello, till we meet to part no more.”
