A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW PRIEST
REV. FR. GERALD NDUBISI NWAFOR
I am Rev Fr. Gerald Nwafor, born in Nigeria on the second day of September, nineteen hundred and seventy-four, in the family of the late Ephriam Nweke Nnamalueze Nwafor Ekwudo egboo ogu., in the Irudoluonya clan of the Umudunkwo kindred of Umuokolocha, Umuanugwo village, Ifitedunu, Anambra State, Nigeria. That is my heritage and the source of my cultural background.
I grew up in Onitsha, the commercial nerve center of eastern Nigeria, east of the Niger River. I joined the junior seminary from 1984 to 1990 (7th to 12th grade). I did my Latin diploma and spirituality from 1991 to 1994. Bigard Memorial Seminary admitted me to university in 1994. From 1994 to 2003, I studied philosophy, sociology, journalism, and theology. Those were my happiest days as a student.
In 2003, precisely on 16th August, I was ordained a Catholic priest by Bishop Simon Okafor. I spent the next ten years working in my home diocese (Awka). I was an associate at St. Anthony’s Parish, Nanka, 2003- 2005. In 2005- 2007, I was an associate at St. Anthony’s Parish, Enugwu Ukwu. From 2007 to 2013, I was appointed the pastor of St. Michael’s parish Awa (Awa-na-igbo, na odoloma nkwu ndi ji uli azu eme ofe), meaning, Awa in Igboland where palm wine is in great quantity and all soup are made of fish.
On 2nd September 2013, I arrived in the USA to start a new phase in my life. I got admission to study pastoral psychology at Santa Clara University. When I arrived in 2013, I lived at St. Clare Parish in Santa Clara for one year as a student. In the following year, I was posted to St. Justin parish on Homestead to work as the parochial vicar and continue my education at Santa Clara University. From 2013 to 2015, I got my master’s in pastoral psychology, 2015-2017 I bagged a master’s in education and counselling from Santa Clara University. I got my doctorate in Education from San Jose State University from 2017 to 2021, and from 2020 to 2024, I got a Juris Doctor from Lincoln Law School of San Jose. On the pastoral part, I was working as an associate at St Justin from 2014 to 2026 under the tutelage of Rev Fr. Christopher Bransfield (for ten years) and Rev. Fr. Generoso Geronimo (for two years. Now I am here with you at St. Simon to serve God with you under the care of my friend, mentor, and role model Rev Fr. Brendan McGuire. So, that’s my resume. And here’s where the foundation of my faith was built.
I was born in a family of seven. I was in the middle, the fourth guy. My mother had six boys and one girl. The girl came last, and we were overjoyed; we call her Adaobi, simply meaning the girl among boys. She lives now in Australia, working as a nurse. She has two lovely little girls (Cecilia and Miracle). My parents were both teachers. My father studied accountancy in London, and my mother studied guidance and counselling at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN). My mother died in 2009 at the young age of 65, while my father died in 2015 at the ripe age of 83. Am very grateful to God for their lives. Each died while sleeping. My siblings: the first one, William, was assassinated on the 26th of December 2001. He was an attorney and a human rights activist who didn’t get along with the government, and that cost him his life. The second brother, Franklyn, is in Nigeria teaching at a university (UNN). The third brother, Stanley, is a businessman living in Cameroon. The fourth, Gerald, is here with you serving at St. Simon as the parochial Vicar. The fifth guy, Augustin, is in Nigeria, an engineer (bachelor’s in science). The sixth boy, Paschal, is a medical doctor working in Australia. The last one, the seventh person, Adaobi, is a nurse living and practicing in Australia. That is the family tree.
In the homilies to come, you will hear many anecdotes of my family life in Nigeria and my years in seminary. I came into the seminary not in search of God but fried eggs (A story to share soon)
Finally, I request your prayers so that the grace of God and the fullness of his love will manifest as we work together in the Lord’s vineyard. I will keep you in my prayers always.
Fr. Gerald
Email: gnwafor@stsimon.org