By Olivia Obijiaku
Death has been announced of a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Zaria, Rev. Fr. Vincent Kazachat Sebastine. He passed on after a brief illness at the age of 43. In a statement titled, ‘Obituary Announcement’ and dated 2nd May, 2026, the Chancellor of the diocese Rev. Fr. Augustine Isek, wrote:
‘With total submission to the will of God, we regret to announce the passing onto glory of Rev. Fr. Vincent Kazachat Sebastine a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Zaria. This sad event took place on Saturday, 2nd May, 2026 at about 1:35 p.m. at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika (ABUTH), after a brief illness. The Bishop extends his deepest condolences to the Sebastine’s family. While we enjoin all to pray for his peaceful repose, information regarding his burial will be announced in due course.”
Sequel to the above, the chancellor in another release, dated 5th May, 2026, disclosed that the Mass of Wake and the Funeral Mass for the deceased priest have been scheduled to take place on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st May, 2026 respectively, at St Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Zaria.
Speaking of the departure at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the Parish Priest and the immediate successor of the departed, Rev. Fr. Dr. Tijjani Ezekiel Danlami empathized with the bereaved parishioners whose memory of the priest is still fresh, having left the parish months before his demise.
He reminded them of the reality of death, urging them live well, because they may not have the privilege like Jesus, who had time to bid farewell to His disciples, before His death. “You may not have the time like Jesus, to give a farewell speech. You may have the time to give your inaugural speech but your valedictory speech may not be there.”
“In those, when an old person was dying, he would normally call his family members together and begin to bless them and tell them what to do. But today, unlike before, you may not have such opportunity. Today, death comes anytime, anywhere. You do not know when and how death will meet you.”
“Therefore, we must be ready. Maximize any opportunity given to you because, a time will come, when you cannot walk. A time may come when you cannot talk or write, even if you want to do so. Now that you have the time to give charity to people around, maximize it, because when the game is over, we will no longer be on the stage.”
