Tradition takes root
CHARLOTTE — More than 220 Nigerian Catholics gathered at Our Lady of Consolation Church Nov. 25 for a joyful celebration of Mass in the Igbo language that was also a milestone – the first Igbo Mass celebrated in the city of Charlotte.
Men, women and children, many dressed in brightly colored and ornate traditional clothing, prayed, sang hymns in Igbo (pronounced “EE-boo”) and swayed and danced to music performed by Nigerian musicians and a choir made up of members from Charlotte and Greensboro. During the offertory, men and women lined up to place their offerings in a basket at the altar.
The Igbo come from the Igboland province in southeastern Nigeria, which is predominantly Christian and has Catholicism as its largest faith community. Igbo Catholics have settled in this area for many years and organized their own faith community in western North Carolina 11 years ago.
Sunday’s beautiful liturgy was the beginning of efforts to build up the Igbo Catholic community in Charlotte, said celebrant Father Marcel Amadi, parochial administrator at Our Lady of Consolation. Since 2015, he has served as spiritual director for the Igbo Catholic Community in the diocese.
“Things went overwhelmingly well – there was a nice level of cooperation among everyone and many here were attending the Igbo Mass for the first time,” Father Amadi said. “It was a great opportunity to gather the communities together in the spirit of family and Thanksgiving.”
While many Igbo Catholics live in the Triad area, Father Amadi said more are moving to the Charlotte area, which makes it important to make the Igbo Mass available to them.
People traveled from Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Salisbury for the Mass, which also attracted Nigerian Catholics from Charlotte.
Igbo priests from around the diocese attended and concelebrated the Mass. Father Innocent Amasiorah, parochial administrator at Our Lady of the Angels in Marion, offered a homily that touched on themes from the day’s readings for the Feast of Christ the King. Also present were Father Henry Ogu, a doctoral student at North Carolina A&T, and Father Chinonso Nnebe-
Agumadu, the first Igbo priest ordained in the diocese and current campus chaplain at Charlotte Catholic High School.
“It’s fantastic to have a Mass here in Charlotte, because the Church brings the people together,” said Godfrey Uzochukwu, a professor at North Carolina A&T and communications director for the Igbo community. “We are excited to have another place where Igbo people can hear the Mass in our native language.”
The Igbo Catholic Community in the diocese first organized after Nigerian Catholics met with retired Cardinal Francis Arinze during his 2011 visit to the Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress.
The cardinal, who is of Igbo heritage, encouraged them to find a way to have Mass celebrated locally in their language. At the time there were no Igbo priests in the diocese, so local Nigerians reached out to Spiritan Father Joseph Orji, who was serving in the Diocese of Raleigh. He celebrated the first Igbo Mass in the Diocese of Charlotte at St. Mary’s Church in 2014.
When Father Amadi started serving in campus ministry in the Triad area in 2015, he took on the role of spiritual director for the community, which has grown to about 300 people.
Members participate in many activities around the diocese, including annual visits to the Eucharistic Congress. They gather online to pray virtual rosaries during May and October, as well as the Stations of the Cross during Lent, and take part in charitable activities such as delivering food to the Urban Ministry in Greensboro and diapers to Room at the Inn.
“I loved having the Mass in Charlotte – this empowers us to be more together as a community,” said Martina Ukattah of Greensboro.
Beginning in January, Igbo Masses will alternate between Greensboro and Charlotte. The next Igbo Mass will be offered Sunday, Jan. 25, at St. Mary’s Church in Greensboro.
— Christina Lee Knauss
