By Pierre-Paul Dossekpli

This Saturday, May 16, 2026, the Archbishop of Ibadan, Gabriel Abegunrin, ordained five members of the Society of African Missions as deacons in Bodija, Nigeria.

The celebration took place in the presence of the Superior General of the SMA, Fr. François du Penhoat, his Council, Fr. Emmanuel Dim, Superior of the SMA Province of Nigeria, as well as many SMA Fathers from different entities, on the eve of the opening of the Plenary Council of the Society.

The new deacons were presented by Fr. Emmanuel Avonyoh, rector of the SMA Formation House in Bodija. Among them are Reuben Atabo Gabriel (Nigeria), Philippe Nama (Republic of Benin), Luc Abignima Kadjaka (Togo), Sergino Koffi Gbodui (Togo), and Freddy Koutouan Assoukpou (Côte d’Ivoire).

In his homily, Archbishop Gabriel Abegunrin recalled the universality of the priestly ministry. “No priest should consider himself a priest of his locality,” he said, urging the new deacons to remain humble and set a good example. “You have not yet arrived,” he added, also speaking of himself as archbishop and all the other priests.

At the end of the celebration, questioned by the SMA Media Office, the prelate appealed to the members of the Plenary Council to “work on the improvement of the formation system”. In particular, he drew attention to the challenges posed by current digital culture and artificial intelligence, in a context where young people entering the seminary are growing up in an environment deeply marked by these realities.

For his part, Father Emmanuel Avonyoh, rector of the SMA formation house in Bodija, did not hide his satisfaction. He gave thanks to God, whom he considers to be the true formator of these young missionaries. He also welcomed the strong presence of the superiors of entities who came to Nigeria to participate in the SMA Plenary Council, scheduled for May 17-30, 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria.

At the microphone of the SMA Media Bureau, the rector also appealed to the Plenary Council to work for “a better harmonization between formators and entity superiors” in the accompaniment of future missionaries.

For the academic year 2025-2026, the SMA formation house in Bodija has 62 seminarians, divided between the philosophy and theology cycles. These young people actively participated in organizing this day of ordination, already demonstrating their sense of responsibility in serving the mission.

In addition, the SMA Formation House in Nairobi, Kenya, also celebrated the diaconal ordination of eight candidates on the same day with the laying on of hands by Peter Kimani Ndung’u, Bishop of Embu. The celebration was held at St. Monica’s Parish in Kitengela, Kenya.