Final funeral rite for Archbishop Ukpo begins

As the remains of the Emeritus Archbishop of Calabar Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, His Grace, Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Edra Ukpo was received at the St. Benedict Cathedral, Ogoja on Monday being part of the obsequies for his funeral, drew mixed emotions from Catholic faithful’s who described the patriarch as a beacon of light being the first indigenous Priest and Bishop of the diocese.

Recall Archbishop Ukpo passed on March 1st 2023 at age 85 and exactly 50 years after he was appointed Bishop of his native Ogoja Diocese.

His remains left Calabar on Monday for Ogoja and was received at Mbok Junction before proceeding to his native parish, Christ the King Catholic Parish at Okpoma, Yala Local Government Area in Cross River State for mass. A vigil mass was held thereafter at St. Benedict Cathedral.

Present at the vigil mass was the chief celebrant, His Grace, Most Reverend Dr. Mathew Ishaya Audu, the Archbishop of Jos Archdiocese in Plateau State and the head mourner His Lordship, the Bishop of Ogoja Diocese, Most Reverend, Donatus Akpan and His Lordship, the Bishop of Gboko Diocese Most Reverend William Aveno Avenya alongside over 60 priests were co-celebrants.

Bishop Akpan commended all who turned up for the vigil and thanked the Archbishop of Calabar Archdiocese, His Grace Most Reverend, Joseph Ekuwem for accepting that the remains of Archbishop Ukpo be brought home first before the funeral rites in Calabar.

He said there is no rule that said the remains of a Bishop has to be taken to all the places he worked before burial, hence his commendation of the decision made by Archbishop Ekuwem to allow his predecessor to visit home.

At the sermon, Rev. Fr. Jake Ofonko, a professor of Human Rights, Religion and society at the Nasssarawa State University, Keffi reflected on the life and times of the late Archbishop and said the missionary Bishop, Thomas McGerick planted the seed and cut the grass with the late Archbishop Ukpo watering it and ensuring it blosoms.

He described his passing as glorious since “today Heaven has indeed gained a great Angel and we have gained a great ancestor”.

Born on June 6, 1937, Archbishop Ukpo was among the first batch of students that were enrolled at the Maryknoll college, Okuku, Ogoja now in Yala and was ordained a priest on April 25, 1965.

He was ordained to the Episcopacy as an auxiliary bishop on September 19, 1971 and served as the Auxillary Bishop Ogoja Diocese and the Titula Bishop of Chullu Diocese, a Catholic Titular Episcopal see of Algeria until 1973.

He was appointed Bishop of the Ogoja Diocese on March 1st 1973 by His Holiness Pope Paul VI and was ordained a few weeks later.

Ukpo served in that position for 30 years and 9 months before he was appointed Archbishop of the Calabar Metropolitan see on December 17, 2003 by His Holiness Pope John Paul II and was installed a few weeks later.

He retired on February 2, 2012 after leading the flock in the Archdiocese for about nine years and was also the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Cross River State.

A requiem mass was held by the office of the Dead on Tuesday morning before the motorcade conveying his remains left to Calabar for a vigil mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Wednesday while the funeral mass is scheduled to hold Thursday March 23, 2023 at the same venue.

By: Archibong Emmanuel

(Snr. Reporter)

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