By Paschal Norbert
ANAMBRA, JULY 11, 2023 (CISA)- The Catholic Diocese of Aguleri has announced a special prayer session for Fr Joseph Kene Igweagu kidnapped on October 12, 2022, and whose whereabouts are still unknown to date.
The Holy Mass in solidarity with Fr Igweagu has been scheduled for August 4, 2023, on the Feast Day of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, at St. Joseph’s Parish, Abata Nsugbe.
Fr Joseph Kene Igweagu, a Catholic priest from the diocese of Aguleri excised from the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha on February 12, 2023, and the parish priest of St. Joseph’s Parish Abata Nsugbe, Anambra East Local Government Area was kidnapped on October 12, 2022.
In a statement by the Archdiocesan Chancellor, Fr Prudentius Emeka Aroh in October, he was returning to his house after celebrating a Funeral Vigil Mass in Umunachi in the Njikoka Council area of the state when he was attacked by his abductors.
To date, there has been no news about his whereabouts or state of life.
According to a 2022 report by Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), Nigeria is the leading country with the most kidnappings and murders of priests in the world, with a total of 28 kidnappings and four murders in 2022 alone.
