Chimamanda Adichie hails Catholic Priest in Cross River state as she compares his actions to the actions of an Igbo priest during her mother’s funeral Mass

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has praised a Catholic Priest in Cross River State for his actions during a funeral Mass she attended.

The author said she was at Stella Maris Catholic Church, Itigbi, Cross River State, on Saturday, May 18, for the burial of her brother-in-law, Andrew Elemi Esege, who “was fiercely loved by many”.

She praised Reverend Father Emmanuel Amiji Ujoh for the warmth and emotional intelligence he displayed during and after the requiem Mass.

She then compared the attitude of the Catholic Church in Cross River state to what she experienced in the Catholic Church in Igbo land when she buried her parents.

She wrote: “There was no begging for a funeral date, no polishing of a priest’s inflated ego. No entitled demands for money and food. No suggestion from the priest that he is doing you a favour by burying your dead.”

She then recounted how the actions of a Catholic priest in her ancestral home in Anambra state marred her mother’s requiem Mass.

She said the actions of the Catholic Priest in Cross River state felt truly “Christian”. 

She disclosed that she made a donation to the church afterwards in the memory of Andrew Esege, and she called on others who wish to donate towards the renovation of the church building in memory of Andrew to do so to the Church’s account which she shared.

See below.