1. Introduction
          In words that most of us have committed to memory, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews introduces a priest as “taken from among men, appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” (Heb. 5,1). A Priest is “configured to Christ, the eternal High Priest, and joined to the priesthood of the Bishops” in order “to preach the Gospel, to shepherd God’s people, and to celebrate the sacred liturgy, especially the Lord’s sacrifice.” (Instruction - Priestly Ordination Rite). He exercises “in Christ the office of sanctifying”, he gathers “others into the people of God through Baptism,” he forgives sins in the name of Christ and the Church in the sacrament of Penance, he comforts the sick with holy oil, and he offers prayers of praise and thanks to God throughout the hours.
          Many people have different images of a priest. He is a man of prayer, a preacher of the Gospel, and a Servant of the People of God. His qualities include a close personal relationship with God, love for the Catholic Church and her teachings, generosity and ability to work well with others, and healthy self-image.
          The priesthood is a vocation. In its best form, it is a lifetime project. This explains the difficulty I have writing on the topic assigned to me: Monsignor Hypolite Adigwe – A Priest of God. To write about him as Priest is to give his whole history. Luckily, there are several presentations in this book that reflect on different aspects of his exercise of the priesthood. What I write here then will only add to the praise of this wonderful Priest!

2. First impressions
          I have always known Monsignor Hypolite Adigwe as a priest. When he was a seminarian, I was a small village boy who, as an Altar server, was used to seeing only Irish missionary Priests. To make it even more difficult for me to know him before his priesthood, he was away in the seminary in Austria. I did not have the opportunity to know when he was ordained a priest. I knew nothing about the places where he worked until after his assignment as a formator in Ss Peter & Paul Major Seminary, Ibadan. In 1975 as a minor seminarian in All Hallows’ Seminary, I heard that our Archbishop (then Archbishop Francis Arinze) had appointed one Father Hypolite Adigwe as his Secretary and the Chancellor of Onitsha Archdiocesan Secretariat.
          The few occasions during liturgical celebrations when, as a minor seminarian, I saw Adigwe from a distance standing beside Archbishop Arinze, he was the Master of Ceremonies. He used to carry himself gracefully, properly organised and truly in-charge of the movement of all those serving around the altar. He was able to study his superior so well that we all, at that tender age, agreed that the Archbishop unquestionably obeyed him during ceremonies. As a minor seminarian, and during most of my years in the major seminary, I never had the opportunity to meet him at a close range.
          Father Adigwe served at the Onitsha Archdiocesan Catholic Secretariat as Secretary and Chancellor from 1975 to 1987. He closely worked with two Archbishops of Onitsha: Archbishop (later Cardinal) Francis Arinze (1975-1984) and Archbishop Stephen Ezeanya (1985-1987).  He was made Papal Chamberlain on 26 September 1984.
          It was in 1985 that, for the first time, I interacted closely with Mons. Adigwe. This time I was a deacon preparing for my priestly ordination and working under the legendary pastor, then Mons. Emmanuel Otteh. That time, it was customary at the Onitsha archbishopric for clerics (from deacons upwards) to eat at the Archbishop’s table. There, one afternoon, I encountered Adigwe all alone. Our exchange was brief. I remember it very well. “Good afternoon, Monsignor”. “Good afternoon”. The silence that followed was so profound that, from then on, I made up my mind to go to the refectory only when there were more than two other persons already at the table. Such was the air of formality which the Priest Mons. Hypolite Adigwe exuded! At that time, I felt that he was very distant, unapproachable and, in simple terms, unfriendly. Over the years this image was changed entirely, especially after my priestly ordination.
          As a priest, I started seeing Mons. Adigwe more frequently. I admired the friendship existing between him and Father Aaron Ekwu. They both studied in Austria. Many Austrians, whom I have been privileged to meet, still talk about the closeness of these two Nigerians when they were in their midst. They did not compete as rivals, and they lived like brothers. Their friendship did not stop after their ordination. Back home in Nigeria, the exemplary life of fraternal love between these two friends continued. When Father Ekwu died in 1989, it was clear that Mons. Adigwe lost a trusted brother-priest.
          Divine providence brought me even closer to Mons. Adigwe. In reorganising his Secretariat, Archbishop Stephen Ezeanya made Mons. Adigwe and Mons. Patrick Achebe to swap places. In 1987, Adigwe became the Rector of All Hallows Seminary while Achebe was appointed the Secretary and Chancellor of Onitsha Archdiocese. Thus Mons. Adigwe became my immediate boss, as I was then teaching in the seminary.
          Living and interacting with Mons. Adigwe, following his many activities in the seminary and different parts of Nigeria, meeting and discussing with his many friends and associates, gave me a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the sterling qualities of this great Priest.
 
3. A Diligent Priest
          The first striking quality of Mons. Adigwe is his diligence. He takes seriously every assignment given to him as a priest. Whatever his priestly hand touches “turns into gold”.
          As the chaplain of the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), he distinguished himself as a sure guide. He was so devoted, so clear-headed and so transparent with this Church statutory body that the members unanimously named him “stainless”. Most of the significant achievements made by the CWO, especially in the 1980s, were possible because of his steady hands in guiding the officers at the archdiocesan, provincial and national levels.
          When Mons. Adigwe was assigned in the 1990s to coordinate the formation of catechists and the teaching of Christian doctrine in schools in Onitsha archdiocese, he turned it into a full Directorate of Catechetics and Catholic Education. He reorganised the teaching of religion in schools and stabilised the welfare package of Catechists. Instead of travelling abroad and leaving the annual formation session of the Catechists in the hands of seminarians on apostolic work, as was done by some of his predecessors, he stayed back and personally supervised the programme.
          He taught the novices of Immaculate Heart Congregation so well that the relationship with his past students, now Sisters, has remained strong even after many years. He still retains the familiar code name “osì” with them.
          Mons. Adigwe is ever young at heart. He has been actively involved in the programme of the youth. He instils confidence in them and makes them burn with great zeal to live a Christian life and spread the faith.
I recall the beautiful words of Pope Francis recently on the role of the old in the life of the young people. Addressing the College of Cardinals on 15 March 2013, the Holy Father said:
          “Half of us are advanced in age. Old age is – as I like to say – the seat of life’s wisdom. The old have acquired the wisdom that comes from having journeyed through life, like the old man Simeon, the old prophetess Anna in the Temple. And that wisdom enabled them to recognise Jesus. Let us pass on this wisdom to the young: like good wine that improves with age, let us give life’s wisdom to the young.”
          All the activities of Mons. Adigwe with the youth could be seen from this insight which the Holy Father has given us.
 
4. A Community-life Priest
          Most people are used to seeing Religious Priests who live in communities. Diocesan Priests generally live alone except in big parishes where a parish priest lives with curates. There are also priests who live “in residence” and do another assignment. Such community life has, no doubt, many advantages:
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“…in order to enable priests to find mutual help in cultivating the intellectual and spiritual life, to promote better cooperation amongst them in the ministry, to safeguard them from possible dangers arising from loneliness, it is necessary to foster some kind of community life or social relations with them. This, however, can take different forms according to varying personal and pastoral needs: by priests living together where this is possible, or by their sharing a common table, or at least meeting at frequent intervals” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 8).  Mons. Adigwe loves to be in the company of his fellow priests. He finds great value in community life. He has always lived it.
          I remember that, in 1987, as part of the preparation for his arrival as Rector in All Hallows Seminary Onitsha, a small chapel was built, attached to the Rectory. Up till this moment, priests on the staff either went to the main Seminary Chapel to pray or they prayed in their rooms. Mons. Adigwe introduced community prayer for priests in the new chapel in the Rectory. We started saying Lauds and Vespers together. We went further. We started spending some time together in the sitting room to talk about current issues in the Church and the World.
          This sharing of community life did not stop when Mons. Adigwe was transferred from Onitsha. I was particularly struck when I visited him in Abuja many years after our stay together in All Hallows Seminary. With his small community of assistants, we began the day in his small chapel with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament followed by Adoration and Lauds. Then we celebrated Mass. He left me with the beautiful impression of a model diocesan Priest living a community life.
 
5. A Corporate Priest
          Mons. Adigwe is very creative. He knows how to get things done beautifully well. But he is not a loner, a “one-man-band” who believes that only he alone has all solutions. He is a very solid Priest without complexes and knows how to collaborate with others to get things done.
          Whatever assignment he is given, he quickly creates a secretariat in which he involves many people. As a good leader, he makes the staff of his office to understand the goal they want to achieve, and he explains his ideas on how to achieve it. Those who have worked closely with Mons. Adigwe attest that he trusts his assistants. He is at peace to delegate others.
 
6. A Consensus Builder Priest
          Mons. Adigwe is a good listener. He does not lose his balance if his opinion is not taken. He presents arguments for his position, but he is open to different views. He works with others to reach a common solution.
          When the current Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was being drafted, Mons Adigwe was asked to be among those to represent the Catholic Church in the Constituent Assembly. His colleagues still talk about how he rallied Christians to make sure that the Christian perspectives were duly integrated into the Constitution. At the end of the Abuja assignment, he returned quietly to his Priestly work in the seminary as the Rector. He is never a noisemaker. Those who work less are often the loudest in talking about their contributions and achievements.
          He always distinguishes himself as a consensus builder. No wonder he is a leader in many Organisations, Societies, Boards, Commissions, both local and international.
 
7. A loyal Priest
          Mons. Adigwe has been a priest under different Ordinaries: Archbishop Heerey, Archbishop Arinze, Archbishop Ezeanya, Archbishop Obiefuna and now Bishop Hilary Okeke. With all of them, he has had a cordial and respectful rapport. He is a very prudent priest who understands what a relationship with his Ordinary should be, as described in the Book of Ordination: “Indeed, priests are established co-worker of the Order of Bishops, with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God.”
           It is refreshing to notice at close range that Mons. Adigwe’s education in Europe in the early 1960s; his high profile assignments since his return home and, even his age, have never affected his respect to his Ordinaries. He does not talk about himself in lofty terms. He is thorough-going, devoted, sincere and loyal.
 
8. Conclusion
          On this special occasion, when we celebrate the life of Mons. Hypolite Adigwe, we pray for him in the following words: O Risen Lord, we ask that You give him this day the gift You gave Your chosen ones on the way to Emmaus: Your presence in his heart, Your holiness in his soul, Your joy in his spirit. And let him see You face to face in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread. You who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, forever and ever. Amen.