| Seminarian |
Age |
How he feels about
Perpetual Profession on 3/22 |
What or who influenced him most to
become a priest |
Brother Godwin Akpan, SSJ |
40 |
"I'm ready." |
"My vocation happened while I was in my
teaching career, working with nuns in Catholic schools. I became more
committed to attending daily Mass with the students. They called me 'the
seminarian' even though I wasn't. One of the nuns told me about the
Josephites and I decided to apply." |
| |
Brother Francis Asomkase, SSJ |
32 |
"It's exciting to see it coming close. At
the same time, I'm frightened at the enormous challenge, but the
feelings of joy are greater than the feelings of being frightened." |
"I was raised in a Catholic family. All I
know is the Catholic faith. Every day I prayed my night prayers and my
morning prayers. Even as a little boy, I was a member of the Legion of
Mary. I visited the sick in the hospitals each week. My pastor would ask
us what we wanted to be-I would say a priest." |
| |
Brother Joseph Benjamin, SSJ |
37 |
"It's something I've been looking forward
to for the last nine years, to be a part of the Josephite community, a
thing of joy to be a part of the community. Not by our own effort but by
the grace of God. The glory goes to God, not man." |
"My parish priest and seminarian friends
influenced me in college. My pastor helped me to discern what God was
calling me to be." |
| |
Brother Stanley Ihuoma, SSJ |
35 |
"I'm very excited and kind of nervous,
too. It's been a long, long process. It's been nine long years. When I
look back on it, it seems like yesterday. I was counting the days; now
I'm counting the hours." |
"It was my grandparents' upbringing,
especially when I became an altar boy. I was drawn while at the altar to
become a priest at about the age of ten." |
| |
|
|
|
Brother Kenneth Keke, SSJ |
36 |
"It's something I have been working for
all this while. I didn't work all by myself, but by the grace of God.
I'm happy that God has given me the grace to reach this moment. To God
be the glory." |
"My parish priest was a Franciscan
missionary. He inspired me to be a priest along with friends in the
seminary when I was in college." |
| |
Brother Kenneth Ugwu, SSJ |
29 |
"It's been a long journey coming to this
point. I feel a special joy and a sense of mystery. There are no words
to totally explain it except the grace of God." |
"My mother planted and sowed the vocation
seed in me, her attitude, religious consciousness, her faith, and
practice. I decided to be a Josephite when two Josephite priests visited
our diocese and the vocations director talked to me. I was also
influenced at the minor seminary from the age of eleven." |
