On Thursday, May 7, 2026, the bishops and priests of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province gathered at Maria Mater Ecclesiae Cathedral, Ahiara Diocese, for a provincial recollection marked by prayer and fraternal communion. The program included Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, a penitential service with sacramental confession, and Holy Mass, preceded by a spiritual reflection delivered by Fr. Dr. Anthony-Edward Ohajunwa, Administrator of Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri, on the life and apostolate of St. Francis of Assisi, within the Church’s special year dedicated to him from January 2026 to January 2027.
The homily at Mass, presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Owerri, His Grace Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, and concelebrated by the bishops and priests of the Province, was delivered by Fr. Dr. Anthony Chiwuba Ibe, who opened with the Psalmist’s refrain, “Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres in unum,” underlining the grace of priestly unity. He then pointed out in the readings a coherent movement from law to grace, showing a Spirit-guided Church in which Matthias is chosen in place of Judas, internal tensions are resolved in charity, and Gentiles are fully received into the apostolic communion, further revealing the Church’s universal horizon. In covenantal terms, he noted that Baptism fulfills circumcision as incorporation into the people of God; in the Gospel, Christ’s call to abide in his love as he abides in the Father discloses obedience as communion and love as the very life of God communicated through the Son and the Spirit, enduring unto eternity as the source of Christian life and witness.
Before the conclusion of the Mass, the Bishop of Ahiara, His Lordship Simeon Okezuo Nwobi, expressed gratitude for the fraternal gathering and prayed that the recollection would bear the fruits of peace, unity, and renewed pastoral zeal across the province. Archbishop Ugorji, in turn, thanked the host diocese and all the clergy present for their communion in prayer, noting the grace of such provincial encounters and expressing anticipation for the forthcoming bishops’ meeting in Ahiara later in the year.
The day ultimately became both a moment of spiritual reinvigoration and a cherished reunion of brother-priests and bishops bound by shared faith and service in the Lord’s vineyard.
