Abuja, 27 November, 2024 / 7:32 pm (ACI Africa).
Mons. Thomas Oleghe, the oldest Priest in Nigeria who died on November 24 at the age of 104 has been eulogized as a devoted servant of God who “lived a fulfilled life.”
In a condolence message sent to the Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Bishop Gabriel Ghiakhomo Dunia, the Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria expressed sorrow over the passing of the Catholic Priest.
“It was with deep sadness that I learned about the passing of Rt. Rev. Msgr. Thomas Oleghe, the oldest Catholic Priest in Nigeria,” Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty says in the message issued Tuesday, November 26.
He adds, “I take this opportunity to present to your Lordship, the Clergy of the Diocese of Auchi, and to the family of our late brother and Priest Msgr. Thomas Oleghe, the deepest sentiments of His Holiness Pope Francis as well as my condolences.”
“At 104 years, one can say that Msgr. Oleghe has lived a fulfilled life, yet more than one would have wished that he lived on so that the Clergy in Nigeria might continue to hear from him the stories of the establishment and growth of the Church here in Nigeria and to tap from his numerous years of experience,” Archbishop Crotty says.
