Catholic priest dies in pulpit on New Year Day

By Nehru Odeh

 

Rev. Steve Chukwuma, the Parish Priest of St Joseph Catholic Church Agbor in Delta State slumped and died in the pulpit on New Year Day while delivering the Catholic Homily. He was aged 63.

Chukwuma, who was a priest for 35 years, was also a lawyer and writer. He has been described as cheerful, calm, caring and passionate about people and their wellbeing. His untimely death has sent shock waves across the Catholic Community.

“He was a beacon of hope and inspiration to many of us who, as altar boys in the late 1980s, had the privilege of celebrating the Holy Mass with him at St John The Baptist Catholic Church Agbor, first as a seminarian and later as a priest in the early 1990s. His devotion, humility, and pastoral zeal left an indelible mark on our lives and faith journeys,”  Oseghale Omo Akioya said via a Facebook post.

Active on social media, he always celebrated the anniversary of his call to the priesthood annually with a post of gratitude on Facebook.

Chukwuma was born in Agbor on June 5, 1962 to the family, to the family of late Mr. Benedict Ilekemri Chukwuma from Akumazi Umuocha and late Mrs. Elizabeth Ebigu Chukwuma from Ute-Aliohen. As a young boy, he was an altar server in St. John the Baptist Church, Agbor, during his Primary and Secondary School days.

He attended Ngala Primary School and Ịka Grammar School Agbro. In 1982 he was admitted into the Seminary and started with the Spiritual Year in St. Paul’s Missionary Seminary in Iperu-Remo in Ogun State. After which he proceeded to SS Peter and Paul Major Seminary in Bodija, Ibadan, where he finished in June 1990. He was later ordained a Priest on August 18, 1990 by Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Gbuji in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Agbor.

The parishes he served as a priest included St. Brigid, Asaba; All Saints, Onicha-Ugbo; St. Michael’s, Onichi-Uku,St. Charles, Ubulu-Uku; St. Michael’s Ubulu-Uku;  He was the Rector of St. Felix Minor Seminary, Ejeme-Aniogor and the Dean at St. John of the Cross Spiritual Year campus, Ekpoma,, where he was from 1990 to 1995. He was  later  appointed the Parish Priest of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Ubulu-Uku from 1995 to 1996.

 

He will be sorely missed.