The Community of Saints Peter and Paul Major Seminary Bodija, Ibadan had her Inaugural Mass today Friday 5th October, 2018. The votive Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated today officially launched the 2018/2019 Academic/Formation Session. The Mass was presided over by Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos. Within the Eucharistic celebration, the profession of the Faith and renewal of commitment by formators and other lecturers took place. And at the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the Archbishop, Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins declared the session opened.  

Shortly after the Inaugural Mass was the Inaugural Lecture with the theme “The Relevance and Challenges of Classical and Biblical Languages in the Priestly Formation. The lecture, which took place in the Seminary Auditorium, was delivered by Rev. Fr. Dr. Kenneth Adesina and was moderated by Rev. Fr. Dr. Francis Adedara. Both are formators and lecturers in the Seminary. In his lecture, the Guest Speaker, Rev. Fr. Kenneth Adesina explored the nature of Man as a being and showed the necessity of language in Man’s life and experience. And according to him, since language carries with it the tradition and experiences of the people, the Classical and Biblical Languages (Hebrew, Greek and Latin) in the Church are therefore important in the Church’s missionary activities in the World. Consequently, priests as ministers and teachers of the Word of God and the faith of the Church, in union with the divine action of the Holy Spirit, need a proper understanding of these Classical and Biblical Languages through which the Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Tradition were originally communicated at different historical moments. He called on the future priests(seminarians) in formation to create interest, time and right approach in the study of these languages. In his conclusion he said, “The present generation of seminarians and priests cannot afford to fail the Mother Church, we must follow her call to have a sip of the divine wisdom with the fathers, and hold on to their living tradition. In this period of ‘deep cultural and theological changes,’ keeping alive the linguistic tradition of the Church does not in any way mean ‘living in the past,’ rather it means we are “adhering to the line of faith with an enthusiastic sense of security and freedom, while maintaining a constant fidelity toward that which is foundational.” [Therefore,) let us keep the Church real and active as we continue to embrace and sustain the truth entrusted to us.”