Faith Deepened, Faith Shared: The Great Contributions of a Foremost Protagonist of Evangelization by Most Rev. Dr. Hilary Paul Odili Okeke, Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese

The outstanding figure and first Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Issele-Uku, His Excellency, Most Rev. Anthony Okonkwo Gbuji, who now happily joins the uncommon club of nonagenarians, belong to the Western Igbo Church’s early history, belongs to a time when the people were mostly followers of traditional religion and the faith of converts was shallow. He stands tall at the turning-point of this history and has remained its reference having served the People of God for 63 years as a priest and 48 years as point; a Bishop.

All these years were marked by sowing of seed of the Gospel and training the people to let the seed fall on good ground. And now, reaching 90 years becomes for, the Emeritus Bishop of Enugu, a time of deep satisfaction. This short reflection sets out to highlight the important contribution of Bishop Gbuji to evangelization. I will not be surprised if this same theme receives most attention in the vast articles devoted to his life and work to mark his 90 years.

Bishop Gbuji helps us to understand what evangelization means for our daily lives; he tells us that our divine Master has assigned a specific task to each one of us in our calling – clergy, religious, lay persons: I have a mission to make Jesus Christ known. I would like to pay particular tribute to his vision for evangelization, to let the faith of the people be deepened, so that they will share their faith with other, which has done so much to shape the ethos that is the driving force behind his funding of diversified programmes dedicated to evangelization in all the dioceses he served. Our Common Call to Evangelization Ours is a young and vital Church.

However, the call to evangelization is fundamental to Christianity, and is tied intricately to our baptismal calling and the life worthy of it (cf Eph 4:1). We have been called to be ambassadors of Our Lord Jesus Christ both in the Church and in the secular space. We are expected to accomplish this mandate amidst the challenges to the Christian life, in spite of the many social, economic and cultural contexts in which we work. Often times, the challenges set before us by these circumstances tend to have significant impact on the understanding and practice of the Catholic faith.

In the work of evangelization, we testify to people that, ultimately, Christian faith provides a surer basis for life than secular vision; for it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear” (Gaudium et Spes, 22). Since the Christian faith is founded on Jesus Christ, evangelization is not an abstract concept but true Christian living based on the teachings of the Church, and the new evangelization being promoted is a renewal of that authentic Christian living. Bishops and Priests are called to be promoters in formulating this response according to local needs and circumstances in their various dioceses and among their peoples.

As Dioceses and members of the Church in Nigeria, we are all involved in this together as a family of God. By strengthening the visible bonds of ecclesial communion, we build among ourselves an ever-inspiring sense of faith and charity. It is not surprising, therefore, that every bishop tries to encourage the significant contribution to the spread of the Gospel by the priests as co-workers of the Order of Bishop, with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God (Rite of Ordination of Priests).

He takes care of his priests and promotes vocations to the priesthood, ensuring that his seminarians receive integral formation that will prepare them to serve the Lord and love his flock in the way that pleases Christ, the Good Shepherd. The role played by consecrated men and women in evangelization, especially in the areas of pastoral work, Catechetics and education are important apostolate that should be at the heart of the Bishop. Likewise, the collaboration which the lay people offer in the entire saving mission of the Church is not optional.

Together, all in their different capacities and offices help in building up the body of Christ. It is, therefore, inspiring to consider the outstanding efforts of Bishop Gbuji on evangelization, harnessing all charisma and involving all God’s people in the mission. Heeding the Master’s Command: Put out into deep water,” Duc in Altum (Lk 5:4) After he (Jesus) had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch… When they had done So, they caught such a large number of f fish that their nets began to break.” (Lk. 5:4-6) What is the meaning of deep water?” First, the Apostles had toiled all night long with no success.

And having been so frustrated, they were not likely prepared to fish some more. But Jesus directs, Simon to do so and I he does it. The result is that they caught more fish than they thought they would have needed. Hence, when Jesus tells Simon to put out into “deep” water, what does that symbolically mean? of these words of Jesus, “Put out into the passage is not only about the physical miracle of catching fish; much more than that. it is about the mission of evangelizing souls and accomplishing the mission of God. The symbolism of putting out into the deep water tells us that we must all be fully committed if we are to evangelize and spread the word of God as we are called to do.

Therefore, as Simon answered in obedience to the Lord’s radical command, so has Bishop Gbuji done. The same is true about us. However, he remains a leading figure in the Nigerian Church in discerning the urgency of this response. He follows the direction the Lord gives. For this, he has accomplished many things. As a young priest fresh from studies in 1963 posted to Fugar (1963-1966), he organised the extended families of the villages into small communities for the teaching of the Catholic doctrines, prayers and other devotions, and personally trained young boys from the villages as Catechists to run the communities under his supervision.

The initiative produced significant results as the young Church in Fugar grew rapidly with members who were committed to their Christian responsibility, and actively engaged in building up a vibrant, local Church. It was the same thirst for mature faith that underpins his notable pastoral care of the students of St. John’s School, Fugar, and during his times as a Formator in St. Paul’s Minor Seminary, Benin City. Episcopal Impetus Anthony Gbuji’s consecration as a Bishop made a difference in his sense of urgency of the task of evangelization.

With the canonical erection of the Catholic Diocese of Issele-Uku on 5 July 1973, he was ordained the first Bishop of the Diocese on 30 September 1973. A young Diocese which was still bearing the devastating effects of the Nigeria-Biafra War had to face the challenge of damaged structures and little availability of personnel. With the help of Divine Providence, he quickly set up structures for daily running of affairs. Apparently, priority place was given to formation of the faith of the people and making them share same.

As one who knows what evangelization efforts can do in promoting the spiritual and pastoral growth of the Diocese, Bishop Gbuji quickly began intensive programme of training for catechists so as to deal with the problem of insufficient personnel. These Catechists supplied at places where there were no resident priests. He formed the Confraternity of the Christian Doctrine (CCD) and trained volunteer religion teachers to run courses at centres across the Diocese of Issele-Uku (which later came to be known as the Small Christian Communities). These centres became strong bases for great work of grass root evangelization.

Apart from involvement of the trained laity in the mission; Bishop Gbuji actively promoted training of future priests. He established St. Felix Minor Seminary Ejeme-Aniogor in 1984 for formation of young boys who will become priests for the Diocese and for missions. And a year later, he opened the Mother of Perpetual Help Girls’ Juniorate, Issele-Uku for the Catholic education of young girls. Protagonist of New Evangelization Bishop Gbuji’s advancement from promotion of evangelization to New Evangelization was rather easy.

As a response to Pope John Paul II’s call for New Evangelization, and with the encouragement of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), he dived fully into national and local search for pathways to deepening and strengthening the faith of the people. He found the solution in what was set-out as the programme of Evangelization 2000 something which was already begun in Rome in 1985 by Father Tom Forest, a Redemptorist Priest. Bishop Gbuji’s passion for training people to deepen their faith and to share it with others settled fully in Fr. Forest’s global urgency for share faith values.

Having been personally involved in conferences and meetings that enlightened him about the programme of Evangelization 2000, he established the first school of evangelization in Africa in 1989, and called it Emmaus School of Evangelization. It is to the credit of this school that it has been involved l in training of priests, Consecrated Women and Lay Persons who help in the apostolate. It is also this vision that motivated the foundation of the Congregation of the New Evangelization Sisters of the Mother of Perpetual Help with the help of Sr. Mary Augustine Onwubiko DMMM.

It is on record that Bishop Gbuji actively encouraged Nigerian Bishops to embrace a new Era of Evangelization. After he was installed the Bishop of Enugu Diocese on & February 1997, he continued his promotion of grass-root evangelization and training of manpower in the Church with zeal. He established St. Paul International Institute of Evangelization (SPIIEE) in 2001. He also set up diversified programme of training for Diocesan Seminarians and lay people.

Even in retirement, Bishop Gbuji’s already known competence was still needed by the Church. For this reason, he was appointed the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Benin City on May 31, 2010- the task which he carried out with wisdom and dexterity. In the next ten months of his stay in Benin City, he accelerated the process of grass root evangelization, created many independent Stations and Mass Centres, and brought priests (Fidei Donum) from Dioceses of Enugu, Issele-Uku and Uromi to ease the problem of insufficient number of priests.

With the installation of Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze as the substantive Archbishop, Bishop Gbuji was glad to retire once more in joy and profound satisfaction. Conclusion At the age of 90, in Bishop Anthony Okonkwo Gbuji, we are celebrating a man of outstanding faith, a trailblazer, a consummate pastor, a great evangelizer, an excellent administrator, and an animator of authentic Gospel living. May the good Lord continue to grant him sound health of mind and body as his journey through his old age in this present lite and eternal life in the hereafter!