Catholics gather to pray for Nigerian school girls

May 14, 2014

Catholics gather to pray for Nigerian school girls 
By Catherine Rogan, Media Relations Specialist, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
 

This Sunday, May 18, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s Office of the Vicar for Catholics of African Descent and the Igbo Catholic Community of Houston will host a prayer service asking for the safe release of the more than 300 Nigerian school girls who were kidnapped last week.

The prayer service will be held at 3 p.m. at the Igbo Catholic Community of Houston Center, 8250 Creekbend Drive, Houston.

The service, which is open to all, will be led by Deacon Leonard Lockett, Vicar for Catholics of African Descent for the Archdiocese and Fr. Desmond Ohankwere, pastor at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, the Archdiocese’s first Catholic church established to serve Houston’s African- American Community.

“On first hearing of the news regarding the abduction of the young ladies and destruction of their school, I could not help but place myself in the persona of the fathers and uncles of those young ladies, being the father of a daughter and uncle to numerous nieces myself,” said Deacon Lockett. 

“The prayer service is time for us to gather in prayer, to pause and reflect on these precious young ladies, their families and more importantly ask Jesus, the Prince of Peace, during this holy and blessed season of Easter to bring comfort and healing to our broken world and the safe return of our young sisters caught in the grip of evil within our world today.”

About the Igbo Catholic Community Center

Since 2012, the Igbo Catholic Community Center serves as a place of religious instruction and fellowship for the Igbo community in Houston.

Igbo is an ethnic group based in West Africa, primarily in southeastern Nigeria.

 

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston serves 1.2 million Catholics in 10 counties.
 It is the largest Roman Catholic diocese in Texas and the 12th largest in the United States.

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