By Ononye VC
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha,Most Rev Valerian Okeke on Wednesday celebrated a Requiem Mass at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity,Onitsha for his late driver,Mr Cornelius Onwe who died after a protracted illness aged 57.
The Mass was a rite of passage for the late driver pending his burial on the 27th of May,2025 at his home town Egwegwo Village,Ohaukwu,Ebonyi State.
Amid tears and expression of sorrow by some members of his family and sympathisers,dozens of members of the clergy,religious and various groups of sympathiser besieged the Onitsha Basilica to pray for peaceful repose of the soul of late Mr Cornelius.
Delivering a sermon during the Mass,Rev Fr Basil Okelu expressed gratitude to God for the life of late Mr Onwe who he said,was a committed and dependable staff who put in his best as the personal driver to the Archbishop for over 30 years.
“We called him Pilot 1 as a mark of respect and appreciation owing to the way he conducted himself as an expert in driving the Archbishop without blemish for over 30 years”,fr Okelu said.
He reflected on the relationship of the late Mr Onwe with priests and other faithful,describing him as a happy person who appreciated any little gift given to him adding that he was full of life and was respectful to all.
Fr Okelu further enumerated many good qualities of late Mr Onwe pointing out that he loved his master(the Archbishop)so well that he was a Mass Servant and a reliable confidant to his master.
In his remarks,son of the deceased,master Chijioke Onwe thanked Archbishop Valerian Okeke for sparing no effort and finance in seeing that his father regained his health but that the will of God was final.According to him,if it were to be for money,his father would not have died looking at the huge resources the Archbishop rolled out at various hospitals they attended.
Also in his remarks,the Chancellor of the Archdiocese,Rev Fr Prudentius Aroh,thanked the Archbishop for all his support to ensure the well being of the deceased.According to him,the Archbishop and the entire members of his family in Umudioka “adopted” the late Cornelius as one of their sons owing to his good character and diligence.
The Chancellor revealed that the Archbishop gave a standing order to hospital doctors and nurses at the Waterside Hospital to give maximum attention to the deceased.
Students of the School of Nursing,Waterside,Shanahan University students, Onitsha and students of Special Science technical College Alor, attended the Mass.
Relatives of the Archbishop from Umudioka and others from far away Lagos and other places attended the mass in solidarity.
Some dignitaries like former Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria South East,Sir Azubike Okafor,Sir and Professor Obunadike,Lady Vera Osanakpo,Lady V V I Okoye and members of the CMO and CWO were present.
