On Saturday, May 3, 2025, Friar Moses Johnmaria FIDELIS was ordained to the priesthood amidst great joy and deep gratitude to God. The ordination took place at the St. Christopher Church in the Games Village neighborhood of Abuja, Nigeria.
Our confrere, the Most Reverend Martin KMETEC, OFM Conv., Metropolitan Archbishop of Izmir (Turkey) presided over the ordination. He had previously ordained Friar Moses as a deacon at St. Anthony’s Basilica in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 30, 2024.
The celebration was attended by numerous faithful, friars, family and friends, It was an intense and emotionally charged event. Friar Moses is the first Nigerian priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. He is a member of the Provincial Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land.
Others participating in the Mass included Friar Anton BULAI, the Provincial Custos and Pastor of the Nativity Church in Büyükdere (Istanbul), and Friar Michał SABATURA, the Pastor of St. Anthony’s Church in Istanbul. At the end of the celebration, Friar Anton thanked God for the gift of Friar Moses’ vocation, recalling with emotion his long and faithful formation journey, which began in Nigeria, continued in Ghana and Rome, and matured in the Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land.
The next day, Sunday, May 4, Friar Moses celebrated his first Mass of Thanksgiving in his home parish. The celebration was a truly festive event for the people. It was enlivened by the joyful participation of the community, which supported the newly ordained priest with prayer, song and emotion. His service, first as a catechist and now as a priest, testifies to the beauty of his total “yes” to the Lord, in Franciscan simplicity and in dedication to the people of God.
With gratitude and joy, we present and entrust the new priest of the Church and our Conventual family to the glory of God,
The Provincial Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land.
