Lagos Catholic Faithful To Honor First Indigenous Bishop

Lagos Catholic Faithful To Honor First Indigenous Bishop

The Lagos Catholic faithful said they have concluded plans to honour their first indigenous Bishop, Most. Rev. John Kwao Amuzu-Aggey, on his 50th anniversary, for his feat in the development of the church. The church said that honouring the great gospel preacher this trying times would help people toe the line of the Shepherd in their daily lives to overcome conventional adversaries.

Mrs. Abimbola Isiyemi-Haastrup, Chairperson, Archbishop John Kwao-Aggey 50th Memorial Anniversary Committee, disclosed this on behalf of the faithful. Isiyemi-Haastrup, pastoral leadership, said that the life and times of Archbishop Aggey in the Lagos Archdiocese was impactful and should be re-echoed for the faithful to draw divine inspiration from.

She noted that Lagos Archdiocese had come a long way in development through the foundation laid by the Archbishop. The post-humous birthday Mass on March 5 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos, would afford faithful a nostalgic feeling to rededicate their faith to God, she said.

The anniversary thanksgiving mass on March 13 the Holy Cross Cathedral Lagos, will be another avenue to thank God for blessing the Catholic community with a builder and reformist in the person of Archbishop Aggey, she noted

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passing into glory of the first indigenous Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev. Aggey, DD, OON.

“Since his demise the Catholic Church has grown in leaps and bounds, thanks to the sacrificial labour of the priests and religious who planted and watered the seed in what is now known as Lagos Archdiocese.

“Thanks, in particular, to our first indigenous shepherd, Archbishop JKA Aggey. The iconic Holy Cross Cathedral where Archbishop Aggey’s voice resounded unforgettably several decades ago, is not just symbolic. It is also a return to visit our spiritual father because his remains are interred right inside the cathedra,” she stated.

Isiyemi-Haastrup went further: “The occasion of the golden anniversary of his demise affords us an opportunity to review his contributions to the lives of God’s people within the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos and beyond.

“In our digital era when the world seems to have run amok, perhaps a return to the sedate ways of old and a retelling of the stories of great men who trod this earth before us, can help us chart a way forward.”

She gave a hint of his background, saying, “John Kwao Amuzu Aggey was born of Togolese parents in Anecho, in what was then known as Togoland, on March 5, 1908. He was brought to Lagos where there was a thriving Togolese community at a very early age…”