Immaculate Conception    Immaculate Conception    Immaculate Conception    Most Rev. Dr. Lucius I. Ugorji, Catholic Bishop of Umuahia Immaculate Conception    Immaculate Conception    Immaculate Conception    Very Rev. Msgr. Edward Ahaji, Pioneer Rector of ICS Ahiaeke Immaculate Conception    Immaculate Conception    Immaculate Conception    Very Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Aguiyi, Rector ICS Ahiaeke Immaculate Conception   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 



 

 

 

 
 
 

                                        

 

ABOUT US

 

A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY,
AHIAEKE NDUME IBEKU, UMUAHIA, ABIA STATE, NIGERIA, AFRICA

Immaculate Conception Seminary, named in the honour of the Bless Virgin Mary and has the motto ‘Trahe nos Virgo Immaculata’ had very humble beginning. But like the biblical mustard seed, it has grown so big that her fame is felt far and wide. The caving out of Umuahia Diocese from Owerri Diocese in 1958 was followed by the appointment of Bishop Anthony Gogo Nwedo in 1959, as the first indigenous Local Ordinary in Nigeria to man the heavily protestant area, saw the birth of our seminary. There was a shortage of clerical personnel owing to that fact that most white missionaries preferred remaining in the older diocese. To solve this problem, Bishop A.G. Nwedo taught it wise to establish a seminary.

The first set of nineteen (19) seminarians arrived the seminary on the 6 th of March, 1960 and on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas the next day, Bishop Nwedo and Msgr. Edward Ahaji, the pioneer Rector, celebrated the first mass in the seminary.  

About a year after, namely, the 10 th of March, 1961 , our seminary recorded a major setback. Heavy wind suspected to be a tornado pull down the major building in the seminary. The havoc racked by the wind is still a legend in the surrounding communities. However, this initiate setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise! The first building was replaced by more solid ones which have withstood the taste of time.

Another difficult moment for the seminary was the days of the Nigerian civil war, otherwise known as the Biafran war. With the fall of Umuahia, our seminary went on a ‘Holy Exile’ on 10 th July, 1967 , as the seminarians were forced to relocate to Assumpta Girls’ Secondary School, Obowo. When the war became more severe in 1969 the seminarians moved once again, now to St. Anthony’s Parish, Umuozu, Uguri Mbano. However, with the end of the war in 1970, the seminarians returned to Ahiaeke Ndume.

At the end of the civil war and the unfortunate expulsion of the White missionaries by the Nigerian government, God blessed us with an unprecedented increase in vocation. Many young men willing to serve God and humanity with a determination not to allow any vacuum resulting from exist of the missionaries flooded the seminary. But as the seminary was about consolidating on this development, another setback, in fact a tragedy occurred. On 11 th March, 1972, Msgr. Edward Ahaji, the pioneer Rector of our seminary, fell from a storey building while inspecting some construction works and was fatally injured. He was rushed to Hartland Hospital , Umuahia. The next day the worst occurred! He died. For the young seminarians, it appeared that the world had come to an end.

However, as God would have it, a new Rector was appointed for the seminary in the person of the Rev. Fr. Gregory Ochiagha (later Bishop Gregory Ochiagha of Orlu Diocese). He also contributed a great deal towards the development of the seminary. Since then many other rectors have been appointed and our seminary has being growing from strength to strength.

Another hallmark in the history of our seminary was her registration with the West African Examination Council in 1977 after a through inspection. It is noteworthy also to mention that the first set of seminarians to sit for their examination in 1978 scored 100% pass.

The current Rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary is Rev. Fr. Emmanuel I. Aguiyi, a product of our seminary. Under him, a lot of successes had being recorded in the seminary and he has vowed to stop at nothing in ensuring quality formation in our seminary. He has just completed a sport complex, including a basketball court, volleyball court and a lawn tennis court for the physical development of the seminarians. He has also established the seminary website, an archive and a clinic among others and is presently renovating the building in the seminary with the active cooperation of Bishop L. I. Ugorji.

It will be pertinent to mention here that our seminary has admitted above four thousand (4,000) seminarians, and about four hundred (400) of them are priests working actively in the Lord’s Vineyard. Many of our ex-seminarians are also successful in other fields of life including academics, businesses, public services, military and politics. Suffice to state that one of our old boys, Chuka Odom is a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF THE RECTORS

-          Msgr. Edward Ahaji                1960-1972

-          Rev. Fr. Gregory Ochiagha     1972-1976

-          Rev. Fr. D. Abiamili               1976-1978

-          Rev. Fr. Luke Ilonu                 1978-1980

-          Rev. Fr. Simon Ezenibe          1980-1982

-          Rev. Fr. Austin Kanu              1982-1983

-          Rev. Fr. Nicholas Nwagwu     1983-1986

-          Rev. Fr. Aloysius Nwabekee  1986-1989

-          Rev. Fr. Peter Nwogu             1989-1990

-          Rev. Fr. Anthony Ogbonna    1990-1993

-          Rev. Fr. Austin Kanu             1993-2001

-          Rev. Fr. Malachy Onuoha      2001-2006

-          Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Aguiyi    2006-