THREE JOSEPHITES ORDAINED
Music, joy and community welcomes new priests
By Bill Murray
Amid joyful music and heartfelt prayer, three Josephites were ordained priests May 31 at St. Luke church in Washington, D.C. – a powerful affirmation of faith, vocation and the growing international reach of the Josephite mission.
Bishop Roy Campbell Jr. of Washington presided at the ordination Mass, calling on the three men to “sanctify and shepherd God’s people,” reminding them they were “to serve, not to be served.”
Bishop John Ricard, SSJ, superior general of the Josephites, also attended and offered closing remarks.
The three newly ordained men – Father Chidiebere Dominic, SSJ, Father Linus James, SSJ, and Father Charles Nwamadi, SSJ – are all natives of Nigeria.
During the ordination liturgy, the three deacons each knelt before Bishop Campbell and promised to obey their Josephite superiors as well as the local bishops of the Catholic Church.
Three dozen Josephite priests, dressed in white vestments, and friends and family who are clergy concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Campbell. They each prayed over the ordinands before Bishop Campbell ordained them and then individually greeted them after the rite.
More than a dozen women religious were present at the Mass.
As the choir and band – composed of Josephite seminarians and young priests – filled the church with hymns backed by drums, percussion and keyboards, many in the congregation, including the Sisters and laypeople, swayed joyfully to the music.
The ensemble was directed by Father Cornelius Kelechi Ejiogu, SSJ, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Washington, D.C.
In a moment that delighted the congregation, one exuberant priest embraced each of the newly ordained and lifted them off the ground in the sanctuary, prompting laughter throughout the church.
All three newly ordained priests completed seminary studies in Nigeria and at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Father Chidiebere, 30, learned about the Josephites from his uncle, who was a minor seminary classmate in Nigeria of a Josephite priest.
“It’s where I believed God wanted me to be,” he told The Josephite Harvest of discerning his vocation to the Josephites.
He was drawn to the Josephites because of the history of the order and the courage of the first Josephites who ministered to African Americans in the 19th century, during a time when the latter were a very marginalized community, he said.
His ministry assignments have included the Howard University Newman Club campus ministration, Immaculate Conception parish in Lebeau, La., Our Lady of Grace parish in Reserve, La., and Our Lady Star of the Sea parish in Houston.
Father Chidiebere said it was “humbling” to receive the vocation to be a priest and that he is thankful for God’s “mercy” upon him.
Father Linus James, SSJ, 33, came to know the Josephites through Father Henry Ihuoma, SSJ, a fellow Nigerian. Father James has served in ministry at St. Raymond and St. Leo parish in New Orleans.
He looks forward to “being a voice, an advocate, for social justice” as a Josephite priest. He was attracted to the Josephites because of their community life and, over his years of formation, he has become more familiar with African American culture.
Father James told The Josephite Harvest that in the weeks before his ordination, he felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety. “I’m taking on the priesthood of Christ,” he said.
“His grace is sufficient,” Father James said, quoting St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.
Father Charles Nwamadi, SSJ, 34, learned about the Josephites through his uncle, who is a priest in his native Nigeria. During his discernment process, before applying to the Josephites, he learned that he wanted to join a religious community, a “band of brothers,” and that serving the African American community appealed to him.
“I’m called not to serve Catholics exclusively,” he noted. “I’m called to serve African Americans.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in Nigeria and then matriculated at The Catholic University of America earning a master’s degree in divinity.
Since coming to the U.S. in 2019, he has served in ministry at St. Peter the Apostle parish in Pascagoula, Miss., Church of the Incarnation parish and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Washington, D.C., St. Francis Xavier parish in Baltimore, and St. Augustine parish in New Roads, La., where he served in his final year of studies and also as a deacon.
Father Nwamadi said he especially enjoyed serving African American community in the South, where he likes the weather and food.
Anthony Daisy, a lifelong parishioner of St. Augustine parish in New Roads, La., came to the nation’s capital for Father Nwamadi’s ordination. He credited Father Nwamadi with building up the central Louisiana parish’s CCD program this past year so that 50 young people participated.
Father Nwamadi also led a Bible studies class at the parish.
Following the ordination Mass, which lasted more than two hours, the congregation and their Josephite hosts gathered at the St. Luke Center for a reception, where dozens of people lined up to receive blessings from the newly ordained priests.
The three priests offered their first Mass at Church of the Incarnation in Washington, D.C. on June 1, which was observed as the Feast of the Ascension in the Archdiocese of Washington.
