Bishop Nwobi holds the first Presbyterium meeting for 2026 and lays out the Diocesan plan to the clergy of Ahiara Diocese for the year, including a new date for Diaconate Ordination, as Owerri Province draws a curtain on the internship program after two decades.
Among other things, His Lordship announced that the Mater Ecclesiae Cathedral would be dedicated in early 2028 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Diocese. The prelate also informed the priests of an upcoming diocesan synod by 2029. Bishop Nwobi further disclosed to the clergy that Ahiara Diocese would be hosting the Owerri Provincial Priests’ Recollection on May 7, 2026, as well as the Owerri Provincial Bishops’ Conference meeting in August. On a happy note, Bishop Simeon Okezuo Nwobi announced to the Presbyterium that the Olivet School of Evangelization has commenced a two-year program under Rev. Fr. Dr. Protase Anyanwu for the formation of catechizers from all 90 parishes, including the chaplaincy in the diocese.
Very importantly, at the 12 February 2026 meeting, the Bishop declared that the Owerri Provincial Catholic Bishops have abolished the one-year internship program, which seminarians embark on after completing their four-year theological studies. The internship program for seminarians approaching ordination kicked off around 2004, and Ahiara Diocese has maintained the program in addition to the pastoral year experience seminarians undergo after their four-year philosophy degree. Consequently, Bishop Nwobi joyfully announced that the current seminarians on internship and the seminarians doing their final year of theology, 13 candidates from both sets, would be ordained deacons together on Sunday, 15 March 2026, at 11 am.
Emphasizing the diocesan funeral laws, Most Rev. Dr. Simeon Okezuo Nwobi, CMF, condemned extravagance and flamboyance during Catholic funerals. He specifically shunned the use of horse-drawn carts to convey corpses to the Church for Mass and stated that only one ambulance/hearse should be seen in the Church during Catholic funerals, rather than a parade of funeral vehicles. Of course, dancing with the corpse by pallbearers or undertakers is explicitly and totally forbidden.
Together with the priests working in Ahiara Diocese, the Bishop made far-reaching resolutions, directives, and announcements towards the enhanced growth and sustenance of the Diocese, to the Glory of God. The Presbyterium meeting ended with the priests being reinvigorated after such a fruitful encounter with their Local Ordinary.
Maria, Mater Ecclesiae! Ora pro nobis!!
