By Johnpaul Ibe
St. Raphael Parish, Okwunakuwa Uvuru, has formally inaugurated its first Block Rosary Crusade, named the Gate of Heaven Block Rosary, showing a significant moment in its Marian devotional life after months of preparation and catechetical formation.
The inauguration took place on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, during the Memorial Mass of Our Lady of Fatima, thereby integrating the event into the parish’s Marian-May devotion. In the course of the solemn Eucharistic celebration, about sixty-eight children were formally enrolled into the crusade, with their devotional items, including uniforms, rosaries, medals, and scapulars, blessed by the celebrant.
In a central moment of the rite, the children were consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Dr. Romanus Ugoh, in the presence of parents, the Parish Catechist, and the Block Rosary animators, Mrs. Felicia Odom and Nwanyi Abuoma Elizabeth Olelewe. The act of consecration signified both initiation into Marian spirituality and incorporation into a structured program of prayer and formation within the parish.
The celebration continued on Sunday, 17 May 2026, when the Block Rosary children marked their Thanksgiving Day by actively participating in the Sunday Eucharist. Beautifully attired in their uniforms, they served in various liturgical roles as lectors, altar servers, choir members, and church wardens, contributing to the animation of the single parish Mass on Sunday. Their participation was widely noted for its order, reverence, and evident formation.
In his homily during the inauguration Mass, Fr. Ugoh exhorted the children to model their spiritual lives on the example of the Fatima visionaries, Saints Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia, whose fidelity to prayer, sacrifice, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he said, remains a lasting witness to the Church’s call to holiness and conversion.
For sustained formation, the Parish Priest also structured the children into six devotional groups, each placed under the patronage of a saint, namely St. Ephraim, St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Jacinta, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Bernardino of Siena, and St. Alphonsus Liguori, with appointed leaders to guide their spiritual and moral development within the crusade framework.
The faithful of the parish received the new apostolate with visible joy, contributing generously in support of its establishment and welfare. In particular, Sis. Ogechi Njoku was acknowledged for her donation of uniform materials for all the children, a gesture widely appreciated within the parish community as a concrete expression of lay support for Marian devotion and child formation.
