Church celebrates feast, reaches out to less privileged

The parish priest of Saint Michael, Raphael and Gabriel Catholic Church (Archangel Parish), Satellite Town, Lagos, Rev Fr. Vincent Ezezue, has called on churches, government and well-meaning Nigerians to empower the less privileged in society, so as to make them productive and better citizens.

Giving this admonition at an outreach to the less privileged in the community in commemoration of the celebration of feast of Saint Vincent de Paul Society, Ezezue said it is necessary to always consider the needy and bring them closer to God, by extending hands of fellowship to them.

“When we are marking the feast of Saint Vincent the Paul, the usual tradition is for us to gather the poor and the less privileged around us to share food items, clothes and other relief materials,” he said.

The cleric, who claimed that the parish usually gives relief items to the needy on monthly and quarterly basis, said items distributed during the feast, was large because 80 per cent of beneficiaries were not from the parish.

Ezezue said the outreach is another way of reaching out to the poor, as the country’s economic situation has affected many people, and most are in need of food and other necessities of life.

The priest claimed that the parish has empowered some youths by sending them to skill acquisition centres to acquire such skills as tailoring, mechanic, as well as setup small-scale business for some.

“We saw that there is hunger in the land because of adverse economic situation, and many people who don’t want to are forced to beg. You can see some of them here today; they are not disabled,” he said.

Acting Chairman of the society, Mrs. Comfort Akuwudike, said the gesture was not only to reach out to less privileged, but also to mark the country’s independence celebration.