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Pioneer Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria’s Benin City Archdiocese Dies at 92 after a “brief illness”

By Jude Atemanke

Benin City, 06 August, 2024 / 8:50 pm (ACI Africa).

Archbishop Patrick Ebosele Ekpu, the pioneer Local Ordinary of Benin City Archdiocese in Nigeria, has passed on after a “brief illness”. He was aged 92.

Archbishop Ekpu died at on Tuesday, August 6, the Chancellor of the Nigerian Metropolitan See, Fr. Michael Oyanoafoh, has announced in a statement in which he adds, “Details of his funeral arrangement will be made known later.”

In the statement, Fr. Oyanoafoh goes on to invite the people of God in Benin City Archdiocese to put the late Archbishop Ekpu in their prayers.

“May he rest in peace and may the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen,” the Nigerian Catholic Priest implores.

Born in October 1931 in Unuwazi in Nigeria’s Edo State, the late Catholic Archbishop was ordained a Priest in July 1963. He started his Episcopal Ministry in November 1971 as the Coadjutor Bishop of Benin City Diocese.

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He became the first Archbishop of the Nigerian Archdiocese on 26 March 1994 when Pope John Paul II elevated it to a Metropolitan See.  

The late Catholic Archbishop retired as the Local Ordinary of Benin City on 21 November 2006; he was succeeded by Archbishop Richard Anthony Burke.

On social media, Archbishop Ekpu is being eulogized as a “selfless pastor to humanity.”

“His impactful lifetime and glorious exit will be celebrated and not mourned as the Angels wait anxiously to present him to our maker,” D Dee Ilugbekhai says in a Facebook post, and implores, “Saints of God, come to his aid! Come to meet him Angels of God.”

In another social media post, Josephine Ubani Tomo-Ettah says the late Archbishop “was an astute administrator and God-loving servant leader”, and adds, “May heaven stand still for your entry.”

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Jude Atemanke

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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