Nigeria – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

This year, the connection between Nigeria and the Queen of Martyrs Pastorate in the Beloit area became stronger.

Around the Diocese

On March 12, 2015

Thanks be to God! Prayers are answered as priest’s mother rescued


	Very Rev. Paul Ugo Arinze is pictured on a visit to Nigeria with his parents, including his mother Virginia, right, and father Michael, left (now deceased). Also pictured is Sr. Harriet Ogo Okafor, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, who is a relative of Virginia Arinze. (Contributed photo)

BELOIT — Very Rev. Paul Ugo Arinze has been touched by the “outpouring of support and love” from people throughout the Diocese of Madison who prayed for his mother, Virginia Arinze, who was rescued after being kidnapped in Nigeria.

Father Arinze, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) Parish in Beloit, made a quick trip to Nigeria on March 2 to see his mother in the hospital. He returned to Beloit on March 6.

Mother’s condition

“She was still in the ICU when I arrived in Nigeria in critical but stable condition,” he said after his return. “She had suffered from extreme dehyration, dislocated shoulders, and a knee injury and was complaining of internal pain all due to the extreme way she was handled and the conditions her captors put her through.”

By his second day in Nigeria, Mrs. Arinze made “tremendous improvement” and was responding positively to her treatment, Father Arinze said.

“She was moved from ICU to a regular critical care room on March 5. According to her doctors, she will still be in the hospital for another week or two before her release. Investigations into the circumstances of her kidnapping and those who were involved are still ongoing.”

Abducted at gunpoint

Mrs. Arinze was abducted at gunpoint from her home in the city of Awka on the afternoon of February 21. The abductors claimed to have some ties to the terrorist organization Boko Haram, but the Nigerian authorities are doubtful of that claim, said Father Arinze.

“She was held outside all through her days in captivity, exposing her to rain, sun, and other elements,” he said.

Founder of Pro Labore Dei visits Madison

For the past 10 years, members of Pro Labore Dei (PLD) — wearing bright orange aprons — have fed the hungry in downtown Madison every Friday since September 26, 2003. They began feeding people each Saturday a few months later.

Making a Difference

On July 19, 2012

Tony Magliano

West Africa desperately needs your help

Imagine being very hungry nearly all the time. Imagine telling your children to wait until the end of the day to eat a very small meal. Imagine eating every other day. Imagine not eating at all.

Very sadly, over 18 million people in West Africa’s Sahel region — an area between the Sahara Desert and the African tropics — do not have to imagine severe hunger; they are either experiencing it, or getting very close to it.

Crises have grown

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Food and nutrition crises in the region have grown in frequency and severity in recent years, mostly driven by sporadic rainfall, insufficient local harvests, high food prices, and insecurity.

Propagation of Faith

On March 24, 2011

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer

This Lent: Helping hope live in the missions

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” is the familiar cry of Jesus on the cross.

In our own lives, we may also sometimes feel abandoned, with hope seeming to disappear. As we cope with the serious illness of someone close to us. As we face economic challenges, perhaps even the loss of our job. In the gray loneliness that follows the death of a beloved wife or husband.

God does not abandon us

And yet, in the midst of our darkness, we remember that God did not abandon His beloved Son and the suffering of Good Friday transformed into the hope of our Lord’s Resurrection. God does not abandon us.