Catholic faithful in the United Kingdom have been asked to preserve their ancestral heritage of seeing the Church as their village square, and Jesus Christ, the moonlight which they watch together, despite being in a foreign land. The charge was given by Rev. Fr. Alexander Atu, new Chaplain of the Nigerian Catholic Community, England and Wales, during his installation ceremony, held recently on the Feast of St. Patrick, at Our Lady and St. Joseph Catholic Church, Balls Pond Road, Dalston, Kingsland, London. The Chaplaincy which dates back to 1985 when Francis Cardinal Arinze celebrated Holy Mass for Africans at Westminster Cathedral, came to the fore in the 1990s through the efforts of Rev. Frs. Joseph Baffour-Awuah, John Kirby and Fidelis Chukwu.
In his inaugural speech, Fr. Atu maintained that “I have no doubt that the Chaplaincy is our village square, where everyone comes to refill from, not only the spiritual life, but also the uniqueness of kinship. Jesus Christ is the moonlight we watch together. Our cultures are the meals we nourish and enrich each other with.” He urged on unity and synergy among the faithful who are drawn from the various tribes in Nigeria. He said: “We may have our differences, our challenges, our ups and downs, it is okay; there is never a perfect community or family. I want us to walk together so that our chaplaincy can go far.” Insisting that the laity is an integral part of the Church, the Chaplain said, “The chaplains did not create the chaplaincy, but you, the people of God made it possible.
Starting today, we must take ourselves up, dust ourselves up, and begin again the work of remaking our chaplaincy. We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow.” Speaking further, the cleric stressed, “I challenge you to own your chaplaincy, build your chaplaincy and sustain your chaplaincy, because it remains yours after every chaplain has come and gone.” According to him, “Let us choose to stay together because we are better and stronger together. There is much to be proud of within and among us. We, your chaplains, are committed to walking alongside each and every one of you to make our chaplaincy better.” Fr. Atu noted that although there a quite a number of Nigerian priests in different parishes and dioceses across England and Wale, he cited the famous Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe by reiterating that, “when we gather together as a Chaplaincy to worship God in our own way, it is not because you cannot do that in your parishes, of course you can, but we gathered together because it is good for Kinsmen to do so.”
According to him, “We are a lively community full of love and zeal for the Lord…With us, the Mass meets the demand of Vatican 2, which encourages active participation. We consider the Eucharist a celebration, and we treat it as such.” The priest of the Archdiocese of Jos, north-central Nigeria, emphasised that, “This is what the Nigerian Bishops’ Conference and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales acknowledge and have given us the privilege to enjoy what makes us who we are, and that should not be taken for granted. “I have listened to the CMO and CWO interact in their various groups, sharing their common challenges; I have been with the charismatic and Marian devotees, reaching the heavens at different wavelengths.
I have also enjoyed the beauty of our ethnic communities expressing themselves without apology.” Amid a growing individualism, occasioned by secularism and modernism, the priest warned the diaspora community against isolating themselves from the Christian community. “Do not stay alone because the land is lonely enough, for there is great joy when brethren dwell together, says the psalmist. So today I challenge us to stand strong together, hold onto what we have, and work to make it better”, he said. With warm assurances, Fr. Atu said, “I am confident that we will continue to build a community grounded in faith, compassion, and love.”
He invoked divine assistance to stir the ship and the grace to stand together, pray together, worship together, and share our stories together, so as to win the crown of eternal glory. He used the opportunity to appreciate those who laid the foundation for the chaplaincy saying, “We are eternally grateful to those who took the first step in the formation of our dearest chaplaincy. The foundational members of our chaplaincy, thank you for allowing yourselves to be used by God to begin our community. “I feel very much indebted to those who started it and remained; they are the true pillars who refuse to give up on their family no matter what, and their dogged faith serves as a testimony of their commitment to the gospel in season and out of season.”
