 |
|
| 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.
Rescue mission
The Arinze family paid a “negotiated ransom” for her release, but the captors refused to let her go. Local and federal authorities in Nigeria then led a mission to rescue her on February 28.
Two suspected members of the group died as a result of gunfire exchange with the police during the arrests of their ringleaders. More arrests were made due to the information gathered from those who were captured during Mrs. Arinze’s rescue, including the person who is alleged to be the leader of this group.
Request for prayers
After hearing the news of Mrs. Arinze’s capture, Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general of the Diocese of Madison, informed Bishop Robert C. Morlino and he requested that people in diocesan parishes remember Mrs. Arinze and her family in their prayers and ask God for her safe return.
However, the diocese also followed up with an email asking that news media and individuals refrain from posting information on social media or the internet out of concern for the safety of Mrs. Arinze. This “blackout” was preserved until Mrs. Arinze’s rescue.
“I am very grateful to Bishop Robert C. Morlino for leading all the parishes of the diocese in prayer for my mother’s rescue and her continuing recovery,” said Father Arinze. “I received overwhelming support from the various parishes that I have been assigned to in the past.
“I would like to especially thank the staff and parishioners of OLA in Beloit. They took the news of my mother’s abduction very personally and were there for me at every step of the whole ordeal. They helped me get through what was by all means the worst week of my entire life.”
Father Arinze asked everyone “to continue to pray for my mother and all the victims of violence all over the world. In the end, we are all thankful to God and his gift of faith for seeing my mom through her days in captivity. Mom was able to shift her mind away from her condition in captivity by mentally reciting the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross.”
Father Arinze
A native of Nigeria, Father Arinze came to Madison in 1995 and studied to become a priest for the Diocese of Madison. He was ordained in 1999.
He has served parishes in Sun Prairie, Mt. Horeb, Perry, and Dodgeville. He was also the director of vocations for the diocese before being assigned as pastor in Beloit.
His father, Sir Michael N. Arinze (KSJ), an attorney, died in 2006. He and his wife, Virginia, have eight children and 15 grandchildren.
Father Arinze became a U.S. citizen in 2010. At that time he said, “The diocese has been my home since 1995, so it’s good that my home is now my country. It’s good to know that I’m an American now and can proudly say so.”