THE RECTOR’S WELCOME ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE SEAT OF WISDOM SEMINARY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, 27TH FEBRUARY 2009.
Very Rev. Fathers,
Members of the Community of Formators;
Rev. Fathers,
And Distinguished members of the alumni;
My dear Seminarians;
A NOTE OF WELCOME
On behalf of the Bishops of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, the proprietors of the Seminary, myself, the staff and Seminarians of Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Owerri, I wish to welcome you all back to your Alma mater and to this epoch marking event of the inauguration of the Seat of Wisdom Seminary Alumni Association on this day the 27th of February 2009. We thank God for having granted all of you his traveling mercies from your various engagements. May God be praised! We are exceedingly grateful to all of you who found time to attend this inaugural meeting. This shows how much you value and appreciate us and feel the nostalgia of your Alma mater. I wish you all a fruitful deliberation: You are welcome. Relax, this is your home!
A UNIQUE EVENT
Your presence here today is an assurance that we are still on track. This is a unique occasion for us in this Seminary and we must appreciate it. This is because it is the first time we are hosting such a seminal meeting that brings all of us back to our root, and not as particular classmates as the “Tu es” does. It is equally a unique event since it gives us the opportunity to meet again, appreciate one another, share experiences and deliberate on possibilities before us as Alumni, for our Seminary and ourselves. In fact, it is good and blessed to come together, as the Psalmist rightly pointed out: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity! ... For there the Lord gives his blessing, life for ever” (Ps. 133).
PROUD WE HAVE GONE SO FAR
The Seat of Wisdom Seminary is a family par excellence. We will always look back, with nostalgia to the year 1985, when at 160 Wetheral Road, Owerri, our seminary took off in a make shift site with only 120 seminarians; relocated to this permanent site here in Ulakwo in October 1989 thanks to God and the financial assistance of our German aids, especially of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising; and to the year 1993 when our Seminary produced her first set of priests. Since then our seminary has provided for the church here in our province and elsewhere close to a thousand outstanding Catholic priests and thousands of distinguished Nigerian citizens and Christians, thanks to the concerted efforts of the Seminary Rectors and Formation Team all these years.
The Seat of Wisdom Seminary is proud of this over 2000 living alumni who have studied here. Our alumni are engaged in active service all over Nigeria and in many countries worldwide. They are priests, deacons, missionaries, servicemen, doctors, politicians, businessmen and lay men. They serve in paid and volunteer positions, in churches and schools of repute, in health care facilities, social service agencies, as pastors, etc. Many today are PhD holders, and many still are pursuing further education in universities here in Nigeria and the world over. They are living examples of God’s call in their daily lives wherever they are.
THE SILVER JUBILEE
I think the timing of the inauguration of this association is worth it. The Silver Jubilee Celebration of our Seminary lies ahead of us, beckoning on us to even greater preparation. There are many things to be done, so we do not have to delay. We must clean up our compound, it must take a festive look and there are many dilapidating structures that must be restored. At this juncture, we must declare how immensely thankful and grateful we are to our German friends (from the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising) for the work done already with regard to the re-roofing of most of the buildings in our Seminary. They have been most resourceful to us. We must also face the celebration itself. This entails an enormous financial responsibility for the Seminary. With the present economic situation of the world today, we may not be able to do this alone. Therefore all hands must be on deck.
BENEFITS OF AN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
An Alumni Association would be of many benefits for our seminary and ourselves at this time and always. It could be fun meeting old friends again after a long period of time. It could be a viable, resourceful association to the seminary, directly responsible for planning diverse activities, events and programs to promote the activities, image and mission of the Seat of Wisdom Seminary, especially in view of the forthcoming Silver Jubilee celebration. We could raise a great deal of money for the Seminary or for some projects (like an endowment fund, support/sponsor a seminarian crusade, etc) that will stand for posterity to emulate. We cannot forget our many resourceful and insightful past students who have made things happen at one time or the other. Once more, they could still offer helpful information and aid to the seminary at this time. We must not forget the many benefits that will result from a balanced lifetime relationship between students and alumni, or alumni (former classmates) interactions which we intend to promote through this alumni association. Already we have today an official seminary website: www.swseminary.com. And for our alumni we also have a working email address: alumni@swseminary.com for your comments and contacts. Membership in the Seat of Wisdom Seminary Alumni Association is, therefore, open to all students who have graduated, or completed at least one course from Seat of Wisdom Seminary, still lay or ordained.
We must have to come together to build strongly and to honour our Alma mater. I therefore recommend that all join this association even as I hail our heritage in Seat of Wisdom Seminary. Long live Seat of Wisdom Seminary Owerri!
GRATITUDE
We thank the Almighty God for such a day. I express my profound gratitude to the internal coordinators of this association: Rev. Fr. Dr. Benedict Okike, the chairman, and Rev. Fr. Dr. Patrick Ugwaka and Rev. Fr. Kingsley Ogala, who assisted him. I cannot fail to thank immensely all of you who honoured this invitation. I wish you all a fruitful deliberation. May God grant you all His traveling mercies as you return to your different destinations at the end of this meeting. To our Blessed Mother, our Lady Seat of Wisdom, we pledge our filial love and loyalty, and ask for her maternal care and protection on our Seminary and on all our Alumni, both at home and abroad.
Thank you and May God bless you all!
Very Rev. Fr. John C. Iwe,
Rector.
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