During a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by His Grace, Alfred Adewale Martins, the archbishop of Lagos, blessed and consecrated our new Novitiate House in Lagos, Nigeria. The Mass was concelebrated by many priests and was attended by Religious and hundreds of lay faithful.
The Archbishop in his homily thanked and appreciated the Paulines for their unique apostolate and carrying it out in the Church with commitment and love for the last hundred years. He said it is not a joke to have survived hundred years and that itself is a visible and sure sign that God willed Pauline life and mission in the Church. He appreciated the community of Lagos for completing the construction of the house in a record time and he hoped that it remains a home where vocations are nurtured and formed after the image of Christ himself. His Grace reminded the congregation that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is his faithfulness and so we need to surrender ourselves to him like James Alberione did in his life to preach and reach the good news to all the corners of the world through the means of Social Communication.
Fr Joslin Jose, the Delegate of the Provincial and Novice Master thanked everyone who was involved in the construction of the house. He particularly thanked and appreciated Fr Emmanuel Mundumuzhikara, for his generous availability and commitment to the construction. He said, "Fr Emmanuel, we owe you a lot. We knew it was not easy. You took the grunt of the rain and shine, you beat your age to be on the ground before others, you even had to let go of your 'soft skin and fare face' to carry out the task entrusted to you. You are a master builder and may you live long to build more and add beauty to our world". Fr Joslin also appreciated Fr Jose Mathew, our Provincial Bursar. He acknowledged the unique role Fr Jose played to procure this land here in Iju, Lagos. He concluded saying, "We want to be more in this house of the Lord, more human, not less, more and more in to the image of God and Christ, not more and more in to an image we have of ourselves or even an image of what that self should be as a religious.
The triple celebration of the day, the conclusion of our centenary celebrations, the feast of our great Founder Blessed James Alberione and the consecration, blessing and inauguration of our new Formation House, came to a fitting conclusion with a colourful felicitation program presented by the people of Iju and the Children of Kerala Catholic Association, Lagos and a sumptuous and delicious meal cooked and served in a Nigerian style.
Lagos