His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Matthew H. Kukah, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto kicked off the annual Cathedraticum of the Diocese with Kebbi Deanery, with his arrival in the early hours of Saturday, 30 March, 2019. The Diocese of Sokoto is made up of five Deaneries (Kastina, Kebbi, Gusau, Malunfashi and Sokoto). The Cathedraticum is an annual event during which all the Christian faithful in the diocese come to express their gratitude to their Chief Shepherd, for his pastoral care.
Hosting the deanery is St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. In his Homily on Sunday (March 31, 2019), titled: “Hope in a Time of Trial,” Bishop Kukah noted that “Lent is a time for us to examine the state of what the great Doctor of the Church, St Theresa of Avila described as our interior castles. By this we are encouraged to use this season to build up our spiritual life through prayerful reflections, abstinence, fasting and undertaking works of mercy. The hope is that at the end of it all, we would come out looking neater and better energized to continue with our daily struggles”. In a remark the Dean of Kebbi Denary Rev. Fr Sixtus L. Onuh thanked the Bishop for making this pastoral visit a reality. Ordinarily it is the people who ought to visit the Bishop in thanksgiving, but Bishop Kukah chose to make it less stressful for his flock by taking the pains of meeting them at deanery levels. He equally prayed that God would grant the Bishop more grace to continue the task of being a Good Shepherd.
During the Cathedraticum parishes danced to the sanctuary in thanksgiving to God and to present their gifts to his Lordship. A total of 42 cows and 2 rams were presented as gifts to the Bishop. The Bishop gave the Sacrament of Confirmation to 102 catechumens from across the different parishes of the deanery.
Highlights of the Bishops visit to Kebbi Denary include meetings with all the priests and religious of deanery, meeting with representatives of the Laity across the Deanery, visits and inspections of projects within the deanery, the Cathedraticum, and the conferment of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
