Rev. Fr. Nicholas Nwaneto Nwachukwu Laid to Rest

The remains of late Fr. Nicholas Nwaneto Nwachukwu  have been laid to rest

 Rev.  Fr.  Nwachukwu succumbed to heart disease on the 6th of July 2022 in Lagos.

The late Fr. Nicholas was until his death the Parish Priest of St. Michael’s Parish Ikembara, Ikeduru Local Government Area for over 13 years ago and had survived an earlier health scare.

Prior to his death, he had on medical recommendation, travelled to two  specialist  hospitals,  first  to  Save  A  Soul  Hospital,  Port Harcourt and finally to EuraCare Hospital Lagos, where expert-surgeons carried out a relatively successful laser surgery to give him back his health.  But sadly, he died the next day after the surgery. 

Fr. Nicholas Nwachukwu was born on the 21st March, 1954. The 5th of 11 children born to the late Louis Onyenegecha and the late Juliana Nwachukwu of  Obodo Amaimo in Ikeduru LGA of Imo State. Between the years 1964 and 1979, Fr.  Nicholas acquired basic education from various primary and secondary institutions that helped prepare him for advanced studies. 

Remarkably, it was at Alvan Ikoku College of Education Owerri, where he successfully acquired NCE course in Education, that his desire to be a Catholic priest fully manifested, especially  seen  in  his  devotion  to  regular  attendance  of  the Morning  Mass  and reception of the Eucharist. 

In 1983 he was sent by his Bishop to the then Bigard Memorial  Seminary  Ikot  Ekpene  to  study  Philosophy,  in  1986,  he  was  sent  to Bigard  Memorial  Enugu to  study  Theology.  On successful completion of his theological Studies, he was ordained a Catholic Priest on 14th July, 1990 by Bishop Mark Onwuha Unegbu. 

After  his  ordination,  he  worked  assiduously  in  places  like St. Peter’s Parish, Onyeaghalanwanneya,  St.  Kevin’s Ogbaku, Immaculate Heart Parish Umuagwo, and Orsu Obodo Parish.  He also served as Assistant Secretary to Bishop Unegbu of  blessed  memory  as  well  as  Secretary/Director  of  Holy  Rosary  Hospital Emekuku, Fr. Nicholas worked briefly as a formator/confessor at the Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Owerri. 

He served as Teacher and eventually principal of Christ the King College Obike Ngor.  In September 2001, he was sent to Ireland for further studies.  There, in 2003, he earned a Master of Arts Degree in Education, at the University College Dublin and in 2006 earned a Doctorate in Education, at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland. On his return to Nigeria in 2006, he was appointed Education Director and a member of the Archdiocesan Education Commission.