About Us
"Faith is strengthened when it is given to others"
- Saint Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mission #2
- Saint Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mission #2
The Missionary Society of St. Paul of Nigeria (MSP) was founded on World Mission Sunday, October 23, 1977 by Dominic Cardinal Ekandem, and established by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. The foundation of MSP was in response to the teachings of Jesus to go out and make disciples of all nations (Mark 16:15), and the call of the Second Vatican Council on young churches in Africa to share in the missionary work of the Universal Church as emphasized by Pope Paul VI in Uganda in 1969. The faith we received from the early missionaries that came to Nigeria, we are now sharing across the world.
Ordination of MSP priest began in 1985. Today we have over 300 ordained MSP priests, and more than 250 MSP priests in active ministry. MSP has a seminary in Nigeria with more than 100 seminarians studying for the priesthood. Today priests of the Missionary Society of St. Paul of Nigeria work in Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, the Gambia, Liberia, and South Africa. We are also in England, Grenada, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Rome, Ireland, Bahamas, Canada, and United States of America.
Ordination of MSP priest began in 1985. Today we have over 300 ordained MSP priests, and more than 250 MSP priests in active ministry. MSP has a seminary in Nigeria with more than 100 seminarians studying for the priesthood. Today priests of the Missionary Society of St. Paul of Nigeria work in Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, the Gambia, Liberia, and South Africa. We are also in England, Grenada, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Rome, Ireland, Bahamas, Canada, and United States of America.
Christ’s Ambassadors in Canada
Canadian missionary institutes have long served the evangelizing mission of the Catholic Church both at home and abroad. In Nigeria, the Catholic Church has been blessed by the presence and generosity of the Spiritans, the Christian Brothers, Our Lady’s Missionaries, and many others. When these Canadians embarked on their mission to Nigeria, one wonders if they imagined that Nigerians would one day be missionaries to Canada.
When he founded the Missionary Society of St. Paul (MSP), Cardinal Dominic Ekandem (1917-1995) believed that the Catholic Church in Nigeria, by virtue of its blossoming vocations, had an evangelizing mission mandate, not only to the African continent, but also further afield. In 1976, Cardinal Ekandem shared this missionary conviction with the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria and so began several years of prayerful reflection and conversation. In 1978, with the endorsement of the Nigerian Catholic bishops, the Missionary Society of St. Paul was erected as a Pious Union. On March 17, 1994, the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith approved the canonical status of the MSP as a Society of Apostolic Life. Fundamental aspects of the MSP apostolate include primary evangelization and re-evangelizing communities of faith. Missionaries of St. Paul strive to “to be all things to all people” (1 Cor 9:22), in order to proclaim and witness God’s love in every locale and context. Four decades later, Cardinal Ekandem’s vision continues to bear fruit, with approximately 300 Missionaries of St. Paul serving in diverse pastoral ministries in the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and North America.
Today, the Missionaries of St. Paul are serving in two Catholic dioceses in Canada: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and Peterborough, Ontario. Rev. Anthony Afangide, Rev. Frederick Akah, Rev. Peter Paase, and Rev. Peter Nnanga serve in the Diocese of Prince Albert, and Rev. Dominic Mbah serves the Diocese of Peterborough. These five MSP priests bring to their respective pastoral ministries their homegrown faith and their experiences from previous missionary work in nations including Liberia, Malawi and the United States of America. At the same time, they are enriched by the strong faith of the people they now serve.
In 2015, the Missionary Society of St. Paul’s General Council created the MSP Canada Mission. MSP priests serving in both the United States of America and Canada no longer share a common leadership structure. Now the MSP Canada Mission has its own leadership, and mission office. On January 25, 2017, Most Rev. Albert Thévenot, M. Afr., Bishop of Prince Albert, formally inaugurated the MSP Canada Mission at a Eucharistic celebration in the St. Joseph Calasanctius Roman Catholic Church, North Battleford, Saskatchewan. The Missionary Society of St. Paul is grateful to Bishop Thévenot for presiding at this memorable event and for providing an initial base for the MSP Canada Mission office in Prince Albert diocese. Special thanks are due to all the faithful of St. Joseph Calasanctius for successfully hosting this event. The MSP Canada Mission is also indebted to its board of directors, its legal team, and to MSP friends across Canada for their diligent service and generous support.
The Christian faith is a gift to be shared with all peoples. The Missionary Society of St. Paul has come to Canada bearing this precious gift once received from early missionaries. The presence of MSP priests in Canada testifies to this witness of faith and reciprocates the generosity of Canadian missionaries to the Catholic Church in Nigeria. By responding to the invitation to serve in the dioceses of Prince Albert and Peterborough, the Missionary Society of St. Paul is being true to the vision of its founder and following in the footsteps of its patron, St. Paul, as “Ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20). The MSP Canada Mission is thankful to God for its fruitful pastoral ministries in Canada and looks forward to future mission collaborations with other dioceses in ministering to Canadian Catholics.
Rev. Idara Otu is a member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul. He is currently residing at the Scarboro Missions central house in Scarborough, Ontario, while studying at Regis College – The Jesuit School of Theology at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Sourced from The Catholic Ambassador
www.mspfathers.org
www.mspfathers.org
