Francis Cardinal Arinze retired from active ministration last August, after 50 years in service of God and mankind. Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO, writes on the life of the cleric who clocks 83 today, November 1.
Following the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, when the search for the next pontiff 
commenced, the permutation was not limited to Europe and South America; Africa, precisely Nigeria, came into mention as likely area the head of the Catholic Church would emerge from. The man that aroused the curiosity was Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament, having served as prefect from 2002 to 2008.
On account of that excitement, Eziowelle, a town in Anambra State where he hails from, played host to visitors from many parts of the world on the likelihood of the next pontiff emerging from the area.
Expectations were high as Catholics and Christians of other denominations enthused on the possibility of an African becoming the head of the most populous congregation in Christendom. The expectations however did not materialise.
But even as Arinze did not emerge as the Pope, his profile became a poster card for the African continent that despite preconceived notions on Africans being heathens and pagans, something good can still come from their midst.
The prestige wrought on Nigeria and the continent persists for the Cardinal, who, on August 29, 2015, clocked 50 years as a bishop and had on the same month retired from active service in the Vineyard of God.
The revered clergy recently visited Ubulu Ihejiofor town in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State to pay his last respect to Pa Samuel Ngbenwelu who incidentally had been his steward all the while he was Archbishop of Onitsha Diocese.
It was graceful as Arinze walked about the compound of his late steward administrating God’s blessings without the aid of a rod, despite his advanced age.
The humble beginning
The Cardinal, who clocks 83 today, was born on November 1, 1932 into the African Traditional Religion that held sway then, before converting to Christianity.
Barely nine years in 1941, the young Arinze was baptised by the late Rev. Fr. Michael Iwene Tansi, who is still being celebrated worldwide and being prayed for by the Catholic faithful to be canonised to a saint.
By the year 1950, Arinze had graduated from All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy and stayed back to teach young seminarians. Between 1955 and 1958, he had gone to study Theology in Rome, and in November 1958, he was ordained a priest by Gregoire – Pierre Agagianian who later became a Cardinal.
Between 1959 and 1962, he had earned a Master’s degree in Theology. Apparently due to his African Traditional Religion background, his doctoral thesis was on ‘Igbo sacrifice as an introduction to the Catechesis of Holy Mass’. He later became a Professor of Liturgy, Logic and Basic Philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu.
Arinze, a former regional Secretary of Catholic Education in the then Eastern Nigeria, was transferred to London where he studied at the Institute of Education. After graduation in 1964, he became the youngest Roman Catholic Bishop in the world at the age of 32.
Mission to Rome
Arinze attended the final session of the Second Vatican Council in 1965 along with the 45-year-old Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. He later became Cardinal Priest in 1996, a position he held until he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council of Interreligious Dialogue.
His diligence earned him Gold Medallion from the International Council of Christians and Jews, in apparent recognition of his mastery in the unity of all faiths.
It is also on the strength of this that on 1979 Pope John Paul II affirmed Arinze Pro-President of the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians which later became Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
After the Great Jubilee celebration of the year 2000, the then Pope John Paul II appointed Arinze Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament, in appreciation of his performance as a member of the committee for the celebration.
At the death of the Pope in 2005, Arinze was a member of the College of Cardinals that took part in the 2005 Papal Conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. He later became Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni, a position that was earlier occupied by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the immediate past Pope.
Arinze and the Papacy
There is no doubt that Cardinal Arinze played key role in the successful leadership of Pope John Paul II.
Many recall that the era made salient and conscious efforts at building bridges across all religions in the world.
It was apparently in furtherance to that that Arinze, in July 2009, delivered a speech that encouraged interreligious dialogue at the City Club of Cleveland. That was the flagship of the campaign for ecumenism.
This indeed opened the gate of Vatican for the late Pope John Paul II who ultimately commenced his missionary journey across the world preaching peace, love, unity and synergy among all religious.
The climax of Arinze’s promotion of ecumenism played out recently when Pope Francis delivered a speech at the United Nations on climatic change.
Kind words for Tansi
The Cardinal is not one to forget favours. For instance, while speaking on his relationship with Tansi, he described the late priest as the first that he ever met, as tansi administered his first sacraments on him.
He said: “Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was the first priest that I ever knew. He began our parish in Onitsha, in 1940. He baptised me. My first confession (Penance) was at his hands; first Holy Communion from his hands. He prepared me for Confirmation and I was his mass server (knight of the altar) in 1945.
“The area where Blessed Tansi worked had many vocations to the priesthood and religious life because of the person he was.
“Blessed Tansi was a model priest. He promoted the Catholic faith and schooling for children. He championed women’s issues, often standing up against entrenched local traditional customs. Blessed Tansi also promoted family life.
“Fr. Tansi was also known for asceticism. He ate very little,” Arinze, said, adding, “His cook did not have much work.”
