Ondo Massacre: St. Francis Catholic Church Reopens For Worship

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, reopened for religious activities on Sunday, April 9, after ten months it was shut down, following a deadly attack by armed gunmen.

The mass was officiated by His Lordship Most Rev Dr Jude Ayodeji Arogundade Catholic Bishop of Ondo, Ondo state Nigeria

Catholic faithfuls came out in their numbers to worship and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

It would be recalled that on June 5, 2022, gunmen attacked the church and killed some of the worshippers while several others were severely injured.

The terrorist attack which claimed lives of 41 worshippers and left over 60 persons injured happened on June 5, 2022, this led to closing down of the church for security concerns and as a sign of respect for those murdered.

The Bishop of Ondo Catholic Diocese, Revd Father Jude Arogundade, while leading hundreds of worshipers in the reopening during Easter service, praised the worshippers for their dedication to God, he also encouraged them to continue offering prayers for the souls of the victims and their families.

Arogundade who lamented the massacre in his sermon, declared that the incident would go down in Yorubaland history as the worst thing that could have happened in a church.

He stated that the government failed to protect the lives and property of her citizens, in his words .

“I have never seen a nation that is comfortable watching her citizens being killed every day. It never happens anywhere in the world. A government that cannot protect its citizens is not worthy of being called a government. This government has failed,” he said.