In its April 22 news, Catholic News, or CNA for short, told the story of a Nigerian priest, serving in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, USA. The accident happened when he returned to his hometown to teach in a seminary, and was stuck there because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Father Aloysius Ezoenyeka recounts in the video that he did not know how long he had been unconscious. A light slap in the face jolted him awake, and his eyelids flashed open to an African hospital room filled with clapping and cheering people.
“Hi Dad, happy new year. Welcome dad to 2021.” Joy flooded the faces of the weary doctors, nurses, friends and family surrounding his bed.
The medical staff told him everything that had happened to him in the last 24 hours; it was a series of events that occurred after Father Aloysius was shot by armed Muslim extremists while driving alone on the roads of southwestern Nigeria, just the night before.
Father Aloysius had a habit of saying the Rosary while driving, during his long journeys. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise. Maybe it was just a pebble that shot up from under your tire.
In the next instant, the source of that sound was unmistakable. His windshield shattered as bullets passed beside him, as two men standing by the side of the road shot him in the face.
"I don't know what to do, but I don't have time to be scared," he told CNA. He walked this road many times as a Benedictine monk of Ewu Monastery, and he had heard that it was a dangerous stretch because of the sudden appearance of robbers. But he never thought he would have to take shots for his life.
“I don't think there will be any problems with me. I knew there could be robberies, but I never really thought seriously that it would happen to me.”
Though unhurt from the first salvo, he knew that his attackers' intention was to kill him. In a moment of desperation, he drove straight at his attackers. They ran into the bushes to avoid the car and unleashed another barrage of bullets. The bullets lodged in the front tires and around the engine — and painfully stabbed Father Aloysius in the stomach.
"I tried to keep the wound as tight as I could so it wouldn't bleed, but I just couldn't do it."
After running for a while, he decided to stop for help once he was out of the terrorist's range and out of danger. He stopped near a spot where there were shops for truck drivers. He got out of the car, and then collapsed.
An 11-year-old boy saw Father Aloysius fall to the ground motionless and ran to tell his father, Mr. SonyMopo. Along with a young man, named Chidiebere, father and son SonyMopo, put him in the back of the car to take him to the local hospital.
Oops the only way to the hospital is the way back to where Father Aloysius was attacked. Chidiebere drove while Mr. SonyMopo grabbed a gun, and occasionally blasted the ground in front of the car to scare away attackers. That way they can pass safely.
“At that point, I was in a lot of pain, and all I could do was try to pray,” Father Aloysius said.
Chidiebere sat in the back with Father Aloysius, and kept saying the Hail Mary in their common language. Both belong to the same tribe, just one village apart. Interspersed in these prayers is an appeal to Father Aloysius to pray out loud and not to close his eyes.
“Anytime I wanted to give up, he said, ‘No, no, no, Dad will get over it.’”
Chidiebere continued to encourage Father Aloysius to stay awake as they sped for more than 90 minutes to the emergency room in Benin, around 10pm. Many times, they were delayed by policemen who stopped them for speeding.
When the medical team saw that he was a priest, they called everyone they could think of and worked hard to get a team of doctors right to the hospital, preparing for the operation on New Year's Eve.
At this point, Father Aloysius assumed he was going to die. He lost a lot of blood and the doctors said it was too late. Eventually, however, a miracle appeared and he passed away.
Father Aloysius believed that Our Lady had saved him.
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