Becoming a father

Much like guests await the bride's entrance at a wedding, people packed into the pews at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cape Girardeau eagerly waited to see Patrick Nwokoye and nearly 45 priests and deacons enter the room Friday night.

When he left the cathedral, Nwokoye would be addressed as Father Patrick.

Nwokoye's ordination is one of only three in the past decade at the cathedral. The last was in 1996.

Hundreds of people from across southern Missouri came to the church to celebrate the occasion. A crowd of 400 was anticipated, and closed-circuit television had been set up in the church's basement for the standing-room-only crowd. Joe and Phyllis Bollinger of Chaffee, Mo., got seats in a pew.

"We're both 89 and it's only the third one we've seen," Phyllis said.

The diocese only celebrates the ordination of a priest occasionally since seminary students usually take six years to complete their training and then spend some time in internships and as transitional deacons, which is the last step before becoming a priest.

The ordination of a new priest in the diocese shows that there is hope even while the church struggles with its image in the midst of a national sex abuse scandal in the clergy.

Nwokoye is a native of Nigeria who chose to come to southern Missouri to serve as a priest in this diocese. He has yet to receive his first assignment, which will be announced in July.

That a priest can be ordained "says that something can happen, and this gives us something grand to celebrate. There is hope even in the midst of all the mess," said the Rev. J. Friedel, a priest and director of Catholic Campus Ministries at Southeast Missouri State University. "God continues to be with us and this is reason to celebrate."

Yet in the celebrations, Nwokoye is mindful of the sorrow and sadness that many are experiencing as the church confronts the issue of sexual abuse of children by some clergy.

The struggle to know what is right for society and for the church also makes Nwokoye mindful of the challenges he faces in his ministry.

"It challenges me to live up to what I've promised the bishop and the church." It's a challenge to live a life of personal holiness, he said.

The Rev. John J. Leibrecht, bishop of the diocese, affirmed Nwokoye for the priesthood and the church echoed with applause. The bishop then spoke to Nwokoye about the duties of a priest.

"You are called to make God visible through your words and through your life," the bishop said. "You will preach more through your actions than through your words. That's not to deny the importance of preaching and teaching but it's your life that people will see when they see who Father Patrick Nwokoye really is."

After the bishop spoke, he laid hands on Nwokoye's head. About 45 priests and deacons, many who received special invitations from Nwokoye, also did the same.

One of those invitations went to the Rev. Vitalis Anyanike, a classmate and friend from Nigeria. Anyanike was ordained himself last Friday and serves in the archdiocese of Omaha, Neb.

The ordination in America is much different than a service in Nigeria. There would be dancing and much celebration there, said Stephen Nwokoye, Patrick's brother.

"It is different from what it is in Nigeria," he said. "But I feel the Lord Jesus is telling me to renew my faith. It is a great joy. I feel very happy that so many people would come to witness this day."

He is excited that his younger brother can "carry out his job and minister to the American people and tell them about the church, not just to come to church but to understand."

Nwokoye said he has been blessed by the support of Catholics in the diocese who have helped him learn and encounter Christ. Whether it was a person he spoke with or a child who drew a picture of Jesus, Nwokoye said he's seen God in the faces of the people here.

During his internship at St. Mary's he taught art classes. One day a young kindergarten student was drawing a picture but Nwokoye couldn't quite make out what it was, so he asked. The picture turned out to be an image of Jesus. Nwokoye said he treasures moments like that when he can stop and contemplate the mystery and wonder of God.

And though the Nigerian native has chosen to serve the church in southern Missouri, he's making an impact for the worldwide church. The Catholic Church is bigger than St. Mary's or the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese, he said.

"I feel that I'm serving the church everywhere," Nwokoye said. "It seems there are a lot of things that can broaden horizons. We are all part of the church."

Everyone has talents and gifts they bring to the church and when people come together as a church, those talents aren't lost in the Mass.

"When we come together, we don't lose anything but we gain something. I brought certain things from Nigeria and Rome" but also have been influenced by life in America, Nwokoye said.

"We have to be open to the gifts the spirit pours out," he said.

Journey from Rome

It was the spirit's guidance that brought Nwokoye to southern Missouri, he said. He was studying in Rome when a friend asked him to consider coming to the United States to become a priest.

He met with the Rev. David Hulshof, the diocese's director of vocations, during a visit Hulshof made to Rome. Hulshof asked him to apply as a seminary student. Nwokoye submitted his application to five dioceses and was invited to Missouri in 1996. The bishop approved him for seminary study and he enrolled at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.

The two men have developed a mentor relationship. "I wanted to encourage him," the bishop said. "He enjoys life and when he's around people he's his best self."

Nwokoye's ordination was one of three scheduled before the year's end. "God is looking down on us," said Leibrecht. Another ordination service is being planned in two weeks at Immaculate Conception church in Springfield, Mo., and possibly one more in late December.

Having so many ordinations "boosts the morale of the people and shows hope that we do have people coming forward" to serve as priests, Leibrecht said.

Nwokoye has served parishes on both sides of the diocese since arriving in Missouri in 1997. He served at St. Mary's in 1999 and then transferred to Holy Trinity parish in Springfield, Mo., where he spent a year as transitional deacon.

He completed his seminary training in May, which was the final step toward becoming a priest. It takes six years of seminary training to become a priest. Nwokoye also spent several years earning a master's degree and doctorate at Lateran Pontifical University in Rome, often called the "pope's university."

Nwokoye will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at 5:15 p.m. today at St. Mary's.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126