By Charles Igwe
July 23, 2024, marks a significant milestone for the Catholic community in Southern Nigeria as Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu and All Hallows Seminary Onitsha celebrate their 100-year anniversary. Established on July 23, 1924, as St. Paul’s Seminary in Igbariam, these institutions have a rich history of nurturing and educating generations of clergy and lay leaders.
The seminary in Igbariam began with six junior seminarians—Charles Nweze, William Obelagu, John Aghanti, Simon Okoye, Frederick Anughere, and William Hinzpeter—and three philosophy students, John Cross Anyogu, Charles O’Donoghue (Irish), and Patrick Doyle (Irish). William O’Donnel served as the sole formator, teacher, and lecturer for the entire seminary.
The plan to open a seminary in the region was initially proposed by Fr. Alexander Lejeune in 1904. However, its actualization was delayed by his untimely death in 1905 at the age of 44. His successor, Fr. Joseph Shanahan, temporarily suspended the idea, believing it was not yet time to begin training natives for the priesthood. To address the shortage of priests, Shanahan increased the number of local catechists and imported more Irish priests.
The eventual opening of the seminary in 1924 by Bishop Joseph Shanahan was influenced by Pope Benedict XV’s 1919 encyclical, Maximum Illud, which emphasized the need and urgency of establishing indigenous clergy in mission lands. Despite the delay, the seminary was opened without serious plans: the environment was unsuitable for learning or formation, there were no adequate structures, and the teaching staff was insufficient. Seminarians had to be both students and teachers.
Despite these challenges, the Igbariam seminary became the mother of virtually all junior and senior seminaries in the Vicariate of Southern Nigeria and Cameroon, producing cardinals, bishops, priests, and professionals. One of the pioneer seminarians, C. Donoghue, described Igbariam Seminary as neither “beautiful to look at nor comfortable to live in.”
In 1928, the seminary was moved to Onitsha. A senior seminary was opened at Eke in 1934 to separate it from the junior seminary. The senior seminary was later transferred to Enugu in 1939, then to Okpala in 1942, and finally back to Enugu in 1951, where it has remained as Bigard Memorial Seminary. The seminary was named Bigard to honor Stephanie and Jeanne Bigard, the mother and daughter foundresses of the Opus Sancti Petri Apostoli society, which funded the building of the seminary.
As Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu and All Hallows Seminary Onitsha celebrate this centennial milestone, they reflect on their humble beginnings and the remarkable journey of growth and contribution to the Catholic Church in Nigeria and beyond.
