After selling bread to Catholic children at churches on Sundays, Idris gradually fell in love with the Catholic liturgy.
At the age of 14, Idris applied for a religious education and was baptized with the holy name of Moses, and eventually became a priest. Despite persecution and family opposition, Moses Idris remained faithful to his new faith.
Idris Mustapha's conversion to Catholicism was a heartwarming event and will be talked about for a long time in Nigeria, whose citizens are divided by ethnicity and religion.
Idris comes from a polygamous family in Mararraba, in the state of Taraba, northeastern Nigeria. The teenager Idris used to sell bread to make a living. He used to sell bread to children at Sunday school… and it sold very well.
The church has become a business center for him… Idris continues to go there because he loves Catholic liturgical celebrations, especially liturgical hymns. And so, at the age of 14, he became a convert.
That was in December 2004. Without delay, Idris joined various pious societies such as the Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group, the Association of Acolytes and the Legion of Mary and its choir.
Idris then received life-threatening threats and renewed faith from his family and neighbors. It was then that God used his vicar at the time, Father Kieran Danfulani, now on a mission in the Republic of Ireland, to come to his rescue.
The fact that Idris left his hometown and enrolled in the Sacred Heart minor seminary in Jalingo became a light that changed his life. Idris passed the rigorous discipline and training in the seminary and ended the program in 2012.
Under the guidance and help of the rector, Idris applied to become a priest for the diocese of Jalingo. After training at the seminary in Adamawa State, Idris continued to study philosophy and theology at the prestigious St. Augustine seminary from 2012-2021. In July 2021, Idris was ordained a deacon by the bishop of Jalingo diocese.
On February 25, 2022, Brother Idris was ordained a priest along with five other monks at Our Lady of Peace Church in Jalingo, in a moving Mass attended by many people, including Muslims. .
Father John Jerome Laikei, communications director for the Diocese of Jalingo, said: “The ordination Mass was attended by Father Idris' Muslim parents, who were initially opposed to him becoming a Christian and moreover a Catholic priest.”
Joy was evident on the faces of parents, father's siblings and Muslims.
In a video made by friends of the new priests, narrator Mark Ogbonna explains that Father Idris' ordination to the priesthood "is an unforgettable milestone in the overall history of Nigerian Christianity." Interviewed, Dare Emmanuel noted that Father Idris' Catholic story shows how "God transformed earthen vessels for his glory."
Father Idris is like Bishop Anthony Saliu Sanusi (1911-2009) and Bishop Albert Ayinde Fasina (1939-2021), both of the Diocese of Ijebu-Ode, who although born into devout Muslim families received the priesthood and eventually became shepherds of God's flock. But Father Idris paid a heavy price for his conversion, persecution.
“The persecution of Christians in Nigeria is real, although it takes many different forms. For example, I lost all my friends and family because of my decision to become a Christian. Whenever I go to church, I always get beaten.
I remember one night, when I went to Church to attend a meeting of the Charismatic movement, three of my grandchildren attacked me, took me home, and locked me in my room. I hid through the window and ran to the rectory. My parents came to pick me up. My vicar took care of me for a few days…”
The conversion story of Father Moses Idris shows that the simple gesture of allowing a Muslim boy to sell bread on church grounds has become an example of how to improve interfaith relationships.
When asked how to strengthen Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria, Father Idris advised Nigerians to "put aside the religious sentiments that breed fanaticism" and seek the "common good for all" ". (Ucanews March 13, 2022).
Theo VaticantNews/ Conggiao.vn
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