St. Dominic Yaba Catholic Charismatic Renewal Golden Jubilee

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

An atmosphere of praise and worship permeated the premises of St. Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba Lagos, on a recent Sunday as activities marking the Golden Jubilee celebration of the church Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Upper Room Community) reached its peak with a thanksgiving/jubilee mass.

It was indeed a joyful celebration, bringing to an end the 10-day programme on September 3, 2023. A major highlight of the thanksgiving mass led by the Archbishop of Lagos, Rev. Father Adewale Martins was the unveiling of the Grotto built by the St. Dominic CCR in reverence of the Holy Spirit.

The jubilee celebration of the Upper Room Community commenced on August 25, 2023. Alongside a symposium, it featured praise night and lighting of jubilee candle, among other activities. It also witnessed a family fellowship and reunion involving husbands, wives, and children of members of the CCR. 

The activities of the anniversary also included leadership training by Rev. Father Anthony Nnaji all the way from Upper Room Community in Enugu State. Fr. Nnaji has been a Charismatic and has trained Charismatics over the years. He used the occasion to train all the members of CCR in Lagos Archdiocese.

There was a vocation day which offered brief words of exultation on vocation and how to be youthful and then joyful. The target was the youth and teens and the session witnessed a large number of youths from the parish. A number of Rev. Fathers and Sisters who passed through the community were available to share their personal experience. It availed many people counseling opportunities with the Rev. Fathers and Sisters. The CCR jubilee event which had as its theme, “50 years of Catholic Charismatic Renewal: The Way Forward”, was graced by bishops from other Catholic Archdiocese. It was a symposium which was targeted at 50yrs of CCR and the way forward.

“It was to set up a roadmap on the stand of CCR. It was a national programme. And there was a resolution on what to do,” a member of the organizing committee stated. In his keynote adress, Rev. Msgr. Paschal Nwaezeapu said the CCR had made enormous contributions in the Church in Nigeria in the last 50 years of its existence.

Among other achievements, he said through the Life in the Spirit Seminar, the CCR has helped in leading many Catholics to an authentic Christian life, characterised by a personal relationship with the Trinity and total dependence on God. At the event Most Rev. Ayo-Maria Atoyebi, OP, Emeritus Bishop of Ilorin Diocese said the CCR is a great gift of God to the Church, aiding the faithful to know what God is doing through the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and people.

He said if the next 50 years is to be relevant, the people must be committed to praying consistently and continually. The Bishop urged them to do things the Catholic way, adding that the Church has well developed spirituality to make its members grow. Rev. Father Charles Onwordi, the Parish Priest, giving the vote of thanks, appreciated all who graced the occasion.

He commended the Upper Room Community for all they had done and prayed that God continue to use them to do greater things in the Church. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Upper Room Community) golden jubilee was on the side of the platinum jubilee celebration of St. Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba Lagos which is ongoing.