After the Pentecost Sunday massacre, a light of hope rises in Nigeria. 99 Nigerian children received confirmation this week. American Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades was invited last Sunday to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation.
“Through this sacrament of confirmation, these young people receive a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, empowering them to live the Gospel with conviction!” said the Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend (United States) on 12 July, on Facebook account.
This weekend, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades confirmed 99 children at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Ozubulu, Nigeria, where he is traveling with Fr. Francis Chukwuma from Most Previous Blood Parish, Fort Wayne for their priesthood ordinations.
On Sunday, July 10, the bishop confirmed the 99 minors in the Parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in Ozubulu, in the Diocese of Nnemi. The local bishop, Msgr. Jonas Benson Okoye, as well as Fr. Francis Chukwuma concelebrated the Mass.
At the end of the ceremony, the parishioners presented the American bishop with a statue of the Virgin.
Since 2009, when the insurgency of the terrorist group Boko Haram emerged with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state, Nigeria has lived in a situation of insecurity.
Boko Haram, one of the largest Islamic terrorist groups in Africa, has been orchestrating indiscriminate attacks against various targets, including religious and political groups and civilians.
At least 4,650 Nigerian Christians were killed for their faith in 2021 and nearly 900 in the first three months of 2022.