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Second Sunday of Advent
5 December 2010
Dear Friends in Christ,
To anticipate the Christmas angel, I bring you good news of a great joy: After a drought of three and a half years, we have a parochial vicar! Father Ikechi Korie, OP has been assigned by Bishop Guglielmone to serve at St. Mary’s, and if all goes well, he should be with us by next weekend.
Father Ikechi was born in Nigeria, and he is one of ten children. Right out of high school, he entered the Order of Preachers founded by St. Dominic in the early 13th century, and he studied in Nigeria and at the famous University of Salamanca in Spain. Father Ikechi holds advanced degrees in sacred theology and canon law, and he was ordained to the priesthood in 1996. Before coming to South Carolina, Father Ikechi served as pastor of a small parish in El Paso, Texas, but now he and four other friars from the Nigerian Province of the Dominican Order are working in the Diocese of Charleston. African missionary priests working in the United States is a glorious testimony to the universality of the Church!
He prefers to be called Father Ikechi, and both his first and last names have three syllables. They are pronounced: Ee KAY chee CORE ee ay
Father Ikechi’s arrival will not immediately change our sacramental schedule, except for one small adjustment: Confessions on Wednesday afternoon will not start at 4.30 pm; instead, effective immediately, we will revert to the earlier custom of Confessions beginning at 5 pm with the start of the Holy Hour. This will allow Father Bart to arrive earlier at St. Rafka for his own time of Confessions before his Wednesday evening Divine Liturgy. And speaking of Father Bart, he will continue to celebrate our 7.30 am Mass on Sunday mornings and a few of our weekday Masses as well, for which we are most grateful.
Father Ikechi’s native tongue is the Nigerian language of Igbo, but he speaks both English and Spanish with perfect fluency. Naturally, he also speaks English with the elegant and distinctive West African accent which the British gave to the native peoples of Nigeria, so it may initially require a small effort on our part to tune our ears to the beautiful lilt of Father Ikechi’s voice. Once that is done, we will be given the gift of the preaching and teaching of a son of St. Dominic, who will help us all follow the Lord Jesus with ever greater fidelity. When he arrives, then, please warmly welcome to St. Mary’s our new parochial vicar, Father Ikechi Korie, OP.
Father Newman