The Universal Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has appointed a Nigerian priest of the Catholic Diocese of Abia, Abia State, and an Apostolic Nuncio to the Antilles, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, as the Permanent Observer of the Holy See – the Vatican – to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva.
The appointment was announced in a press statement by the Office of the Antilles Episcopal Conference Secretariat, Port of Spain, Trinidad, and Tobago, where Archbishop Nwachukwu is currently serving as Apostolic Nuncio.
Nwachukwu was also appointed as permanent observer to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Representative of the Vatican to the International Migrations (IOM).
The statement read, ” Pope Francis, has appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Antilles, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, to the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, as well as the Permanent Observer to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Representative of the Holy See to the International Migrations Organization (IOM).
“He was transferred from Nicaragua to the current Mission in Trinidad and Tobago on November 4, 2017, and assumed office on March 19, 2018.
“He is sincerely grateful for your support during this mission in this region and requests that you please accompany him with your prayers and friendship as he prepares to embrace the new responsibility.
“He will still remain in charge of the Mission in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and Antilles, until he departs for the new mission at the United Nations at the beginning of March 2022.”
Archbishop Nwachukwu, who was born on May 10, 1960, in Umuokoro, Eziama-Ntigha, in Isia-Ala Ngwa North Council of Abia State, was ordained a priest on June 17, 1984.
He is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Aba, in Abia State.
He hails from Ntigha Isiala, Ngwa North.
In January 1972, he was admitted into Immaculate Conception Seminary, Ahiaeke Umuahia at the age of 11. In 1975, he and some of his classmates sat for the last London GCE, before the West African Examination Council (WAEC) took over the organisation of secondary school final examinations.
He then taught Mathematics and Latin at the seminary until 1977, when he was sent to continue his priestly formation at the newly opened Philosophy Faculty of the Bigard Memorial Seminary at Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
He completed his seminary formation at the Theology Faculty of the Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu from 1980 to 1984.
He passed his Bachelor of Divinity examinations as the best graduating student and gave the valedictory speech at the graduation of his class. On June 17, 1984, the late Bishop of Umuahia, Rt. Rev. Anthony Gogo Nwedo, ordained him to the Catholic priesthood for the Diocese of Umuahia, at St Eugene’s Parish Church in Aba. He was transferred to the Diocese of Aba when it was created in 1990.
After his priestly ordination, Fortunatus worked as a teacher and later as vice-rector of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Umuahia, as well as parochial vicar and administrator of the St Anne’s Parish, Ibeku (1984-1986).
Concurrently, he served as the Diocesan vocations’ director, as well as the chaplain of the Federal College of Agriculture and the Umuahia Campus of Alvan Ikoku College of Education, both in Umudike-Umuahia.
In 1986, he was sent to Rome for specialization studies. He studied Scriptures at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule, Sankt Georgen, in Frankfurt, Germany.