Annually, every consecrated person witnessing to Christ in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos joyfully gather together to celebrate World Day for Consecrated Life in thanksgiving to God for the gift of Consecrated Life and Consecrated Persons in the Church. The World Day for Consecrated Life, instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997 through the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, serves as an annual “day of prayer for consecrated men and women” and a moment of thanksgiving for their prophetic witness within and outside the Church. This special occasion is celebrated every 2nd of February being the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Luke 2:22-40).
On February 2nd, 2026, over 600 Consecrated Men and Women who proclaim Christ and the Good News of Salvation through their different apostolates to over 2.5 million Catholic population in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos happily converged at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Amuwo-Odofin, a parish run by Redemptorists in Nigeria, to celebrate this year’s World Day of Consecrated Life. It was a radiant celebration of the joy of the Gospel, beautifully embodied in the transformative witness borne by consecrated men and women, who, as living signs, carry the saving Light of Christ into every corner of human life in the Archdiocese of Lagos. The choice of the venue manifests the positive missionary presence of Redemptorists in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos and the Nigerian church in general.
About past 10 am, the concelebrated Holy Eucharist, presided by Rt Rev. Msgr John Aniagwu, who represented His Grace, Most Rev Adewale Martins, DD, the Archbishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, and concelebrated by over 100 religious priests, began with the blessing of candles and a solemn procession by all consecrated men and women present, each bearing his/her candle in joyful proclamation of Christ, the Light of the world, whom they have received, and are called to reflect in their different apostolates. Also present at the Eucharistic Sacrifice were Very Rev Fr Michael Emerue, CSsR (the Vice Provincial Superior of the Redemptorist Vice Province of Nigeria), Very Rev. Fr. Dominic Eshikena, OP (the Prior Provincial of Dominican Province of St. Joseph the Worker, Nigeria and Ghana) and other major superiors of different male and female institutes of Consecrated Persons working in the Archdiocese.
In his homily, Rt Rev. Msgr John Aniagwu communicated the good wishes of His Grace, Most Rev Adewale Martins, DD, the Archbishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, who was unavoidably absent but did not fail to send message of appreciation to all consecrated men and women for their active and lively collaboration in the joyful proclamation Christ in their different apostolates in the Archdiocese. He, Rt Rev. Msgr John Aniagwu, further reminded all consecrated persons that their vocation is rooted in Christ, the Light of the World, whom they received first at their baptism and more intimately at their consecration/religious vows. He reiterated that they have the missionary mandate to reflect that same Light in joyful witness in their different apostolates thus becoming bearers of hope in the face of different social, economic, and spiritual challenges facing Christianity and the society at large in their time and space. He concluded by thanking them for the gift of themselves as Consecrated Persons in service to God and humanity, and prayed that Christ, the Light of the world, will continue to sustain and nurture their vocation in holiness and jubilant proclamation of plentiful Redemption.
Towards the end of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the parish priest of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Amuwo-Odofin, Rev Fr Fidelis Okpanachi, CSsR, thanked His Grace, Most Rev Adewale Martins, the Archbishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, ably represented by Rt Rev. Msgr John Aniagwu, for being a father to all especially the Consecrated Persons working in the Archdiocese. He thanked all consecrated persons for their presence, the organisers, and all who contributed to making the occasion a success. At the end of the Holy Mass, the host parish, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Amuwo-Odofin, hosted all the Consecrated Persons and the people of God who came in solidarity and thanksgiving to God for the gift of religious life, to a sumptuous meal, refreshment, dance, and other forms of social entertainment. Indeed, it was an enriching moment of joyful witness, fraternal sharing, and deeper reflection on the gift as well as the expectations of Consecrated Life in our present reality as Nigerians in imitation of Christ, the Light of the World.
The 2026 Day of Consecrated Life at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Amuwo-Odofin, stands as a luminous milestone, illuminating the Redemptorists’ indelible missionary imprint on Lagos’s soul, and further points to greater collaboration in bringing about plentiful redemption to the Nigerian Church.
Fr. Peter Chijioke Onyeno, CSsR.
Director of Media and Comms,
Redemptorist Vice Province of Nigeria
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