■ Spends N3.5 million
David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
A popular Catholic priest from Mbaise, Imo State, on April 21, 2018, made history at St Peters Catholic Church, Oparadim, Ahiazu Mbaise, when he sponsored and wedded 117 couples in one day.
The priest at the centre of the heartwarming historic moment, who is the Spiritual Director of Canaanland Adoration Ministries, popularly known as E-Dey Work Catholic Centre, located at Km 10, Nnewi-Nnobi Bypass, Nnobi, Anambra State, Rev Fr Magnus Ebere SDV, achieved the feat he tagged ‘Glorious Wedding’ at the Catholic church in his home town which also hosts a branch of the prayer ministry.
Some of the guests testified that it was the first time they had witnessed such a large wedding ceremony, during which several couples exchanged marital vows.
Rev Fr Ebere, who officiated at the mass wedding was assisted by seven other Catholic priests in performing the holy matrimony, said he was motivated to sponsor the largest wedding ever held in the Igbo land because of the fact that couples who lived together as husbands and wives without proper wedlock were living in sin.
The priest said it took him about N3.5 million to sponsor the wedding where three cows were slaughtered for entertainment with free wedding gowns, free reception and every other thing free.
“People came from far and near, from all over Nigeria to witness the event. You know some people have lived as couples for many years but could not tie the nuptial knots either for the reason of poverty or some other reasons outside finance, which I think should not be reasonable enough for the couples to continue to live in sin.
“We are called as priests to sanctify the world and for us to do that, we must begin from the family level because the world began from the family. With this wedding, we have been able to rescue 117 couples from sinful living as far as the marriage institution is concerned,” Fr Ebere said.
The priest said he believed that the church is the last hope of the people “and failure of the church in its duty is failure of the whole world.” He explained that everybody was aware of the economic hardship many families are experiencing today, noting that the couples who benefited from the gesture could use the money they would have spent on wedding to do some other thing to benefit their individual families.
“E-Dey Work, as he is popularly known within and outside Anambra State is a fiery priest, whose escapades in the spiritual world have led to his being used as a vessel by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles reminiscent of the miracles of Jesus Christ,” a member of the ministries told our reporter.