For four days, hundreds of Catholic devotees from across Nigeria converged at the Cor Mariae Boys College, Abuja, to celebrate the life and spirituality of St Rita of Cascia, under the auspices of the Pious Union of St Rita of Cascia, Nigeria.
The well attended national feast of the devotees was more than just a religious gathering, it was a celebration of faith, charity, forgiveness and perseverance, as well as a collective prayer for peace in a country facing political divisions, insecurity and social tensions.
The exhortations of the archbishop and other stakeholders reinforced the virtues of St. Rita of Casia, which the church believes, is instructional for the country and all its people.
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace, Most Rev. Dr Ignatius Kaigama; the National Grand Patron of the Pious Union, Sir Dr Ukura Samuel, a former Auditor-General for the Federation; the Prior-General of the Pious Union, Mrs Cecilia Oyakhire; and the Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 2026 National Feast, Lady Idowu Jokpeyibo all enjoined the faithful to emulate the virtues of St. Rita of Cascia.
Represented at the celebration by the National Chaplain of the Pious Union, Rev. Fr Richard Igyor, Archbishop Kaigama challenged devotees to move beyond seeking miracles from St Rita and instead strive to live the virtues that defined her life.
He said genuine devotion to the saint must begin with a strong relationship with God and made manifest in the way believers treat other people.
“Let your wonders first be a relationship with the Lord,” Kaigama said.
Drawing lessons from the biblical account of Prophet Elijah and the Gospel account of Jesus walking on the sea, the Archbishop said those who build a genuine relationship with God would have the courage to confront difficult situations without fear.
He cautioned Catholics against focusing solely on the miracles associated with St Rita while neglecting the values she embodied.
Kaigama recalled the words of the late Bishop Usu, who told devotees that the best devotion to a saint was to live out the virtues of that saint.
He therefore challenged members of the Pious Union to examine their lives and relationships, particularly the divisions and factions that sometimes occur among devotees.
“If we really are devotees of Saint Rita, why the factions?” he asked.
The Archbishop urged devotees to become instruments of reconciliation and peace in their homes, workplaces, parishes and communities.
He illustrated the point with the story of a child who defined saints as people depicted on church windows through whom rays of light shine into the church.
Kaigama said the simple definition offered a profound lesson, urging devotees to allow the light of Christ to shine through their lives.
He said St Rita’s followers should shine in their families, businesses, offices, parishes and communities by demonstrating love, patience, forgiveness and charity.
A Model For Nigerian Leaders:
For Dr Ukura Samuel, the virtues of St Rita have implications far beyond religious devotion and could help address some of Nigeria’s political and social challenges.
Ukura, who is the National Grand Patron of the Pious Union of St Rita of Cascia, said Nigerian leaders would create a more peaceful country if they embraced the saint’s spirit of forgiveness and love.
He recalled that St Rita forgave those responsible for the death of her husband and refused to allow the tragedy to lead her family into revenge.
“If the leaders of this country should emulate and mimic the life of Saint Rita, this country will be at peace because there will be no hatred of any person,” he said.
He said the lesson was particularly relevant to public officials who sometimes victimise subordinates, frustrate people’s careers or use their positions to settle personal scores.
Ukura drew from his own experience as Auditor-General for the Federation, recalling that former staff members from different ethnic and religious backgrounds gathered to celebrate him a decade after he left office.
He said the goodwill demonstrated that treating people fairly and avoiding hatred could create relationships that survived long after a person had left office.
“Not only Christians, Muslims. They gathered themselves and I’m telling you what they gave me was fantastic,” he said.
Ukura urged public servants to emulate St Rita by avoiding malice, discrimination and career-related victimisation.
“If you have that spirit of Saint Rita, you won’t keep malice. You won’t refuse any person’s promotion. You won’t do any hatred postings in the service. You’ll do the right thing,” he said.
He also linked the saint’s message to Nigeria’s political environment and the forthcoming elections, urging politicians to see political opponents as fellow citizens rather than enemies.
He said political differences should never become justification for violence or killing.
“If the politicians imitate the life of Saint Rita, you’ll see Nigeria will be a better place to live in,” he said.
Faith Expressed Through Charity
The Prior-General of the Pious Union, Mrs Cecilia Oyakhire, said the national feast was an annual gathering that brought devotees from different parts of the country together to celebrate the saint and renew their commitment to her spirituality.
She explained that while St Rita’s feast is ordinarily celebrated on May 22 every year at parish level, the national celebration allows devotees to gather for prayer, fellowship and service.
She said this year’s celebration was preceded by nine days of prayers and included charitable activities, such as a visit to hospitals to offer support and comfort to sick people.
According to her, the acts of charity were inspired by St Rita’s compassion for the poor and vulnerable.
She recalled the tradition associated with the saint of ensuring that no beggar was left unattended, even if it meant taking the last bread available in her mother’s kitchen to give to someone in need.
Oyakhire said the sharing of bread during the feast was therefore a practical reminder of the saint’s charitable disposition.
She added that devotees also distribute flowers as part of the spirituality associated with St Rita.
Beyond charity, she said, St Rita’s spirituality was rooted in prayer and an intense love for Christ, noting that the saint endured suffering with extraordinary faith and perseverance.
It is this combination of prayer, sacrifice and compassion, she said, that has made St Rita widely regarded by devotees as the saint of impossible and difficult cases.
Women And The Peace Project
Oyakhire also urged Nigerian women to recognise their role as nation-builders and become stronger agents of peace in their families and communities.
“Women are nation-builders, and women are supposed to have a soft heart to always make peace, show love and care,” she said.
She urged mothers to raise children with strong spiritual and moral values, teaching them to love God and their neighbours.
According to her, the peace Nigeria seeks must begin in the family, where children learn how to relate to others.
She warned that failure to teach children love, care and respect could contribute to violence and disorder in society.
“If you don’t take care of your children, don’t build them up in the spiritual way, mold them spiritually to show love, to love one another and to emulate the virtues of Saint Rita and Christ, loving God above all things, and loving your neighbour as Christ has loved us, there will be chaos in this world,” she said.
A National Gathering Of Faithful
For Lady Idowu Jokpeyibo, Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee of the 2026 Pious Union of St Rita National Feast, the successful celebration was itself a testimony to faith, cooperation and the devotion of Catholics across the country.
Jokpeyibo, who is also a Catholic and a knight, said preparations for the event began shortly after the host community secured the right to stage the national feast the previous year.
She expressed gratitude to God, benefactors and benefactresses, members of the organising committee and the management of Cormaria College for their support.
According to her, more than 1,000 devotees from different parts of Nigeria attended the four-day gathering, with participants travelling from places including Port Harcourt and Warri.
She said the large turnout reflected the strength of devotion to St Rita and the willingness of members to travel long distances to participate in the national celebration.
“We have over 1,000 devotees of Saint Rita all over Nigeria,” Jokpeyibo said.
Jokpeyibo said some devotees had travelled by bus and spent several nights at the venue, with mattresses provided to complement the accommodation facilities made available by the school.
She commended members of the organising committee for their commitment and thanked the management of Cormaria College for opening its doors to the devotees without charging them for the use of its facilities.
She also expressed appreciation to those who supported the event financially and materially, saying their contributions helped make the celebration successful.
But beyond the successful organisation of the event, Jokpeyibo said the central prayer of the gathering remained peace in Nigeria.
“We look forward to having peace in Nigeria. That is the theme of this year’s gathering. So we pray that the peace continues to reign in our country, Nigeria,” she said.
A Feast With A National Message
The 2026 National Feast of the Pious Union of St Rita of Cascia thus brought together devotion and a broader message about the kind of society Nigerians should strive to build.
From the Archbishop’s call for authentic devotion and an end to factionalism, to Ukura’s appeal to political and public leaders to embrace forgiveness and fairness; from Oyakhire’s emphasis on charity and the role of women in building peaceful families, to Jokpeyibo’s account of a national gathering united in prayer for peace, the celebration presented St Rita’s life as a model with relevance far beyond the Catholic Church.
The saint’s story is one of suffering without hatred, forgiveness in the face of grave injustice, perseverance in prayer and compassion for the vulnerable.
Those virtues, the speakers said, are not merely devotional ideals. They are qualities that can strengthen families, improve public service, moderate political rivalry and foster peaceful coexistence.
The real challenge, therefore, is for the faithful to take St Rita’s message beyond the feast and into everyday life.
