The Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, in the spirit of the ongoing synodal process in the Church, held an interactive session with the Superiors of the Women Religious Congregations working in Ibadan Province. The session, which was held at the close of the second plenary of the bishops of Ibadan Province took place at the MM Pastoral Centre, Ilorin on August 12, 2025. It was intended as an expression of the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope, was conducted in the synodal spirit of listening to one another in order to create together a more hopeful pastoral life for the Church and the future of Ibadan Province.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Ibadan Province, Most Reverend Gabriel Leke Abegunrin, in his opening remarks, reasoned that the synodal interaction of listening to one another, derived from the periodic interactive session which the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) was already holding with the Religious Superiors at the national level. He revealed that the Bishops of Ibadan Province were eager to bring the exercise closer home by organising this session on the level of the Province in order to address more effectively some issues that are peculiar to the ecclesiastical Province.
He reminded all present of our calling as missionaries to our own people who must work together to actualise the mission of Jesus Christ in the contemporary times in which we live. The Women Religious Superiors who attended the session largely personally and by representation, expressed gratitude to have been invited to discuss the life of the Church especially the issue of mission. They unveiled some areas of concern for them in their apostolate which include challenges with youth catechesis and the general religious environment which has become more liberal than ever before.
They expressed concern about how to be effective pilgrims of hope when they do not have the material means of actually giving hope to people, about the excessive attempts at inculturation and innovation by some priests in certain parts of worship, and the balance of relationship in collaborative ministry especially where it involves priests and Religious. The Religious Superiors appealed to the Bishops to check some excesses within the liturgy being manifesting by certain individuals and in various forms and which need to be checked because they damage the faith of the people and even of the Religious.
Such matters have been addressed at the level of the national conference of Bishops but need to be made more effective at the provincial level as well. They also called for the Bishops to pay attention to the proliferation of Religious Congregations, some of which have little or no structured formation or community life. These carry on with their speculative religious life with little or no ecclesiastical control while soiling the name of other Religious in the eyes of the faithful who innocently consider them all of the same stock.
Such tendencies, if allowed to fester, actually endanger the very mission of the Church. During the sustained listening period, the Bishops, speaking individually, admitted that the Church today, even as she is growing pastorally and admirably, has many challenges to confront. They admitted that the ongoing meeting is intended to reinforce their determination with the Religious to collectively address old and emerging challenges in the Church. It is a reinforcement of the important role that Women Religious play in the life of the Church, in the life of families and in the society especially within Ibadan Province. “We must find every way to help sustain the dignity and integrity of the church of Jesus Christ bequeathed to us over time”.
Some Bishops emphasised that an adequate understanding of ecclesiology must be factored into the formation of priests and Religious in order to secure authentic spirituality because the latter actually derives from the former. A corollary of this must be an appreciation and sustenance of community life, lived as brothers and sisters to safeguard the sanity of the priest or Religious. All this, coupled with visionary and courageous leadership for priests and religious will discourage the flourishing of spirituality and pastoral practices that are extraneous and damaging to the catholic faith.
The Religious were then urged to exploit more the educational and healthcare spaces which they govern in the Church like hospitals and schools to propose multimedia catechesis and catholic spirituality for evangelising those they encounter every day. Post marital accompaniment of our young people also emerged as an area needing more attention from pastors and Religious in order to help the young married people to confront the challenges of their life as Catholics. A viewpoint emerged that it is critical to remember that youth apostolate is about “planning with and working with”, rather than planning for and working for the young people.
A give-and-take attitude is indispensable for the youth apostolate in order to exploit to the maximum, the ability of the young people themselves to self-mobilise for positive purposes. These strategies must of course be nuanced according to the rural or urban environment in which the youths are situated as the case may be. Other internal challenges of priestly and religious life were discussed with a determination to pastorally confront them henceforth at every level with the view of finding pastoral solutions for all.
The interactive session was held under a truly cordial and synodal atmosphere whereby everyone who had something to say was listened to. The Religious expressed the desire to have further meetings between the Major Superiors and the Bishops of the Province where even more sensitive issues can be ironed out for enhanced pastoral life in the Church. Religious Superiors and representatives from twelve congregations attended the interactive session.
• Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo is the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Oyo.
