Where the Bishop is says St. Ignatius, there gathers the people of God. Thus, on the 5th of December, 2015, the Bigard family gathered to warmly welcome one of her worthy alumni, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Umuahia. The event began with the Eucharistic celebration in which the Bishop is the Principal Celebrant.
After the Eucharistic celebration, there was a grand reception organized for him in the Seminary Auditorium. This segment featured among other things, the Igba Umuogaranya dance of Nnewi/Onitsha dioceses, the Ojianyalele cultural display of Abakaliki diocesan seminarians and a choral presentation by the Bigard Choir.
The Rector, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Albert Ikpenwa, expressing his gratitude to God for the presence of the Bishop in the welcome address said “Today, the family of God in Bigard not only gathers around, but also even more, greatly thank the Almighty God as she receives and bids a warm welcome to a worthy alumnus of this great institution, an erstwhile formator here in Bigard, a prince of the Church, His Lordship, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, the Bishop of Umuahia Diocese.”
He went on, on behalf of the Bigard family to felicitate with the Bishop on his Episcopal Silver Jubilee Celebration which took place in August this year and also outlined the numerous achievements of the Bishop in Umuahia Diocese since his inception of office as the Chief Shepherd of the Diocese. Finally, he thanked the Bishop for his continuous and unwavering support to the Seminary.
In his speech, the Bishop, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji began thus, “I came to Bigard to say thank you to the institution that formed me.” He encouraged us to be more devoted and dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and our Blessed Mother Mary, as successful events inour lives do happen on account of Christ’s power in the Blessed Sacrament.
According to him also, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the symbol of the Priesthood. Here, he established a connectedness between the fiat of our Blessed Virgin Mary and our decision to become Seminarians and Priests. He said: “The ‘fiat’ we make to become seminarians and priests is a re-echoing of that of Mary. This ‘fiat’ is anticipated by that of God and the Church. Trying to determine whether God gave his ‘fiat’ to us is the period of discernment throughout the Seminary formation“. Finally, he thanked the Bigard family for the wonderful reception.
The closing remarks and prayer were said by Rev. Fr. Ohajuobodo Oko and Rev. Fr. Simon Areji (Spiritual Director) respectively. These drew the curtain of the remarkable occasion.