I call myself a unique priest, in the sense that the major experience I do not actually have is that which is most common to all. My priestly journey has led me instead into peculiar apostolates: I assisted in police chaplaincy for years, went to prison chaplaincies for over two years, and more recently have interfaced with military and school chaplaincies. One of the beauties of these specialised areas is the resonance of music during the celebration of Mass, music that sometimes feels like a foretaste of heaven—if such a hyperbolic expression may be allowed.
A common feature of Masses in Catholic military and police chaplaincies is the unusual presence of two distinct choirs at a single liturgy, each standing separately. The first is often the regular choir dominated by youth and classically trained musicians, who sing the parts of the Mass and carry the congregation along. The second, often dominated by women, sings uniquely and tends to turn a large part of the congregation into mere spectators, transforming the liturgy itself into something of a spectacle, often without regard for time or for the rhythm of the celebration. In Nigeria, this latter choir frequently operates under names such as ‘Zumunta Mata’— literally “a fellowship of women”—and similar groupings.
These choirs sing not only at parish Masses but also at chaplaincy liturgies, official chaplaincy functions, memorials, and community outreach events. They blend local musical idioms with devotional texts and the lived experience of security personnel and their families, creating a distinctive sound-world that both consoles and evangelises. Their presence deserves careful theological and pastoral attention because they show how popular devotion, local culture, and institutional ministry converge in the chaplaincy context (Catholic Television of Nigeria, 2023–2025; Catholic Chaplaincy pages).
Tracing the name and social origin of ‘Zumunta Mata’ helps us to understand why such choirs flourish in chaplaincies. The Hausa word ‘zumunta’ means fellowship or association, while ‘mata’ means women. In northern and central Nigerian contexts, ‘zumunta’ or ‘matan zumunta’ designates organised women’s fellowships that sing, pray, console, and mobilise mutual aid in times of illness, grief, or social need (Guardian, 2024; Hausa Dictionary). These associations predate many modern Church structures and have proven resilient in contexts of economic hardship and social dislocation.
When Catholic communities adopt the name ‘Zumunta Mata’ for women’s choirs, they tap into an indigenous form of solidarity that naturally adapts to chaplaincy life. Chaplaincies themselves are ministries of presence among soldiers, police, veterans, and their families—communities that often live under strain and require both pastoral care and communal belonging. Chaplaincy liturgy in military and police contexts carries special pastoral demands. Chaplains must celebrate sacraments in austere or mobile circumstances, provide counselling for trauma, and accompany families at funerals and memorials.
Choirs in chaplaincies therefore acquire roles beyond hymn-singing: they bear consolation when comrades fall, perform national and religious memory at dedications and remembrance services, and build morale by providing a familiar spiritual rhythm in unfamiliar places. The Archdiocese for the Military Services in the United States, and similar structures elsewhere, emphasise this integrative role of music as part of sacramental ministry and pastoral outreach, showing that institutional chaplaincy and local musical culture complement rather than oppose each other (Archdiocese for the Military Services, n.d.). In practical terms, choirs such as ‘Zumunta Mata’ and the Guardian Angel/Police Chaplaincy choirs visible on Catholic media provide three interlocking goods.
First, they incarnate a local theology of accompaniment: their songs articulate suffering and hope in local idioms, making liturgy intelligible and consoling for those affected by violence, displacement, or bereavement (Catholic Television of Nigeria, 2024). Second, they function as instruments of pastoral formation: membership in the choir teaches laity discipline, liturgical sensitivity, and reverence for the sacraments. Third, they bridge the chaplaincy community with the wider Church and civil society; a chaplaincy choir performing at a police dedication, a barracks Mass, or a jubilee fosters links with bishops, civic authorities, and families, rendering chaplaincy presence visible and valued (YouTube, 2024).
The theological grounding for valuing such choirs is profound. The Church’s liturgical life is inherently inculturated; Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963) and subsequent magisterial reflections affirm the necessity of local expression in worship so that the Gospel speaks authentically to diverse peoples. When choirs adopt indigenous idioms and names, they enact inculturation: the Word b’ecomes audible in familiar rhythms and melodies. In the chaplaincy, where questions of life and death are immediate, inculturated singing joins proclamation and sacrament as a primary means of evangelisation and healing.
This is not merely aesthetic—it is sacramental anthropology in song, the audible accompaniment to the cura animarum entrusted to chaplains. Supporting and forming choirs in chaplaincies, therefore, is not optional; it is integral to sacramental ministry (Archdiocese for the Military Services, n.d.). Yet amidst this beauty lies a worrisome angle. Although ‘Zumunta Mata’ choirs now incorporate women from across Nigeria, they seldom learn to use songs of the immediate community in which they live. Their hymns/songs often seem known only to their members, rendering the rest of the congregation—sometimes as much as ninety-five percent—mere spectators, extinguishing the spirit of active participation.
They also prolong processions and dancing without regard for the need to respect liturgical time, and they sometimes interrupt the flow of the Mass by pausing its proceedings. These weaknesses threaten the participatory and sacramental nature of worship. Nevertheless, the Church must not “sing the Lord’s songs as lullabies in foreign lands.” My humble suggestion is that such a great group be given a specific Sunday every month on which they may fully animate the Mass, instead of duplicating choirs at every Sunday liturgy.
In this way, their gifts can be preserved and celebrated without disrupting the integrity of chaplaincy liturgy. Properly integrated, ‘Zumunta Mata’ choirs will continue to contribute not only to the vibrancy of chaplaincy worship but also to the pastoral accompaniment of the men and women who serve in uniform.
• Very Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Amos is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Uromi and a Lecturer at CIWA, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
