“No One is Too Big to Evangelize”: Benin Ecclesiastical Province Launches Historic Provincial Evangelization Week


-By Ruben Mario Brodrick 

​In a landmark move to reclaim the primary mission of the Church and transform the grassroots faith experience, the Benin City Ecclesiastical Province has officially declared May 3rd to May 10th, 2026, as the inaugural Provincial Evangelization Week. 

This historic announcement was the climax of a high-powered stakeholders' conference held on Tuesday, January 13th, 2026, at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Ugbor, Benin City.

 The event brought together a formidable assembly of Episcopal Vicars, Chaplains, and leaders of all Lay Apostolate groups representing the Archdiocese of Benin City and the Dioceses of Warri, Issele-Uku, Uromi, Auchi, and Bomadi. Under the theme "Ministerial Discipleship: A Call for Evangelization through Lay Apostolic Ministries," the conference served as a spiritual wake-up call and a strategic roadmap for the future of the Church in the region.

​The Provincial Chaplain and Coordinator, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Andrew Ovienloba, set a serious tone for the gathering by delivering a stirring address that challenged the current state of many lay organizations. 

He warned that the Church lives to evangelize and evangelizes to live, noting that any group or parish that refuses this mandate is in a state of "disobedience" to Christ. Fr. Ovienloba lamented that many lay apostolic groups have been hijacked by "partisan politicking" or have begun to mimic secular social clubs rather than serving as the evangelical arm of the Church. He emphasized that true evangelization is not just the recitation of Bible verses but a radical shift in attitude, thinking patterns, and values, inspired by the teachings of Pope Paul VI and Pope Francis. He called for a total reformation of "mental management" within these groups to reclaim the world for Jesus.

​Further clarifying the vision of the Bishops, the Vicar for Evangelization in the Benin Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Daniel Iyangbe, explained that the core aim of this congregation was to ensure every lay apostolate group is now a formal part of the Evangelization Commission. This enlistment means that groups like the Catholic Men Organization (CMO), Catholic Women Organization (CWO), and Catholic Youth Organization (CYON) are now fully mobilized for the "Evangelization task ahead." 

This mandate builds upon the pivotal 2024 Warri Conference, where specific specialized assignments were given to different societies. For the CMO, the focus is uniquely centered on sports as a tool for soul-winning. The province plans to use football, basketball, swimming, and indoor games as effective bridges to reach the unchurched and engage the community at parish, diocesan, and provincial levels.

​The logistics for the upcoming May 2026 Evangelization Week have been meticulously planned following preliminary meetings held earlier in the month. The week will feature rotational programs across various venues from Monday to Thursday, while Friday, May 8th, and Saturday, May 9th, will be dedicated to intensive home-to-home visitation. To support this massive outreach, the province is printing thousands of flyers and banners to be distributed across all dioceses. Rev. Fr. Dan Ewa from Uromi Diocese underscored the necessity of humility in this mission, reminding the participants that "nobody is too big to be an evangelist" and urging leaders to "step down" these strategies to the smallest outstations so that every Catholic is involved.

​As the conference concluded, the leadership announced that a fine-tuned manual would soon be released to provide specific modalities and strategies for each group. Beyond the spiritual outreach, administrative structures were also addressed, including the establishment of Evangelization Committees in every parish and a 60/40 sharing formula for offerings to sustain provincial and diocesan mission work. Amidst the planning, the house paused to pray for the healing of Rev. Fr. Ozele and offered condolences to Rev. Fr. Obi on the loss of his mother. 

The day ended with a clear sense of urgency: the Benin Ecclesiastical Province is no longer content with "business as usual," but is instead stepping forward as a united, obedient, and luminous body ready to make disciples of all nations.

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