Ascension History

About Ascension

Our Parish started as an Arch Bishop Mass/Arch diocesan events Centre under the Dominicans from St Jude Catholic Church Mafoluku Oshodi.
The first Mass was celebrated on January 24, 2002 with His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie as the chief celebrant. He was assisted by the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Abiodun and others.
At this time Sunday Masses were being held upon request and at 9am once every Sunday.
The Catholic Church of the Ascension was finally dedicated in 2003 by the then Ordinary of the Archdiocese, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, the management of the church was entrusted to the Dominicans of St. Jude Catholic Church, Mafoluku. Thus, in essence, we were an outstation and so remained in this status until 2011 when our Parish was canonically erected.

The foundation on which the new Parish Priest has been building was well laid by the Dominicans for upmost of eight years of pioneering hard work. Here we must salute the tenacity of the Very. Rev. Fr. O.G. Thesing, OP and his worthy successors, Frs Abidoun Ademoye, OP, Joseph Ahukanna, OP, Gabriel Feyisetan, OP, and their team of highly dedicated Dominican Priests. The Sisters ably led by Rev.Sr. Margaret Hussain, OP. are also worthy of our gratitude. May the Good Lord bless all of them abundantly.

To the Glory of God, on January 27th 2012 the Quasi Parish was elevated to the status of a Full Parish with Rev Fr. (Ozoemena Ahukanna) appointed Priest-in-Charge. With this elevation came many challenges and responsibilities which included the need to have befitting residence for the Priest-in-charge.
After a short while in the same year 2012 Rev.Fr. Michael Etegene was posted to manage the affairs and shepherded the Parish until 2014 when Rev. Fr. Mike Nsikkak Umoh was brought in to take over the affairs of the young Parish.

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MAIN OBJECTIVE

To build a strong, warm, welcoming, interconnected, well-formed and engaged faith based Catholic Community with Christ as our focus and the Holy Family as our model. (This was corrected. We will provide the corrected copy later)

MISSION STATEMENT

Building dynamic platforms for spiritually and socially engaged parish community through an all-round formation and active collaboration.

PARISH SLOGAN:

Ascension Family….. For God and for His glory!

PARISH ANTHEM:

We stand for God and for his glory. (CHB 153)

PARISH ANTHEM
WE STAND FOR GOD

We stand for God, and for his glory
The Lord supreme and God of all;
Against the foes we raise his standard,
Around the Cross we hear his call.

Refrain:

Strengthen our faith Redeemer,
Guard us when danger is nigh;
To you we pledge our lives and service
Strong in a trust that ne’er shall die.
To you we pledge our lives and service,
Strong in a trust that ne’er shall die

We stand for God, let us be loyal,
Our love proclaim with every breath,
To Christ the King and Lord of Lords,
We shall be faithful unto death.

Formation of other pious societies is being actively canvassed and encouraged.

The Parish Pastoral Council which was formally inaugurated in February 2011 based on an approved constitution in line with Archdiocesan requirement is actively assisting the Parish Priest in its advisory role of managing the affairs of the Parish. The PPC meets bi-monthly.

A Sunday school programme for our children has been firmly put in place. Whenever we are privileged to have a visiting priest, Mass is also said for them.
This programme is being ably and actively driven by our Parish Sisters – The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Sisters in very close cooperation with our dedicated team of lay female parishioners who possess satisfactory knowledge and experience in the management and education of children of them. May God bless all of them abundantly.

The association of Catechists is waxing strong by the day in its role preparing candidates for the reception of the sacraments of Baptism, First Holy Communion and confirmation. Catechism classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays.
We endeavor to maintain a balance in our lives. Thus, the All-purpose and welfare Committee, an organ of the PPC, is charged with the deliberate functions of planning and organizing some social events at parish level for our common good and welfare. These involves but are not limited to Galilee Monday, Ascension Feast Day celebrations and other worthwhile activities as may be approved by PPC from time to time.
Following the establishments of our Parish, we quickly moved to secure an official License as a Marriage Centre. Today, weddings are solemnized here.

In regard to the development of physical infrastructure, we have carried out modification works in the church building structure to be able to accommodate a residence for parish priest, a fully air-conditioned Hall, partly for the children Sunday school programme and partly for commercial purposes too. Church conference rooms are now air-conditioned and serve as meeting rooms for PPC and other church societies.

Societies and lay organizations have sprung up and are being midwifed and carefully nurtured by the Parish Laity Council in accordance with the Archdiocesan rules and regulations. Today we have on ground the following pious societies and lay organizations:
• Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
• Catholic Women Organization
• Catholic Men Organization
• Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria
• Young Catholic Professionals
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul
• Zonal Organizations (A,B & C)
• Association of Catechists • Legion of Mary
• St Vincent de Paul
• Board of Lectors
• Board of Church Wardens
• Knights of the Altar
• Choir

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What is the message of the Last Supper painting?

The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with his apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John, 13:21. Ascension has depicted the consternation that occurred among the Twelve Apostles when Jesus announced that one of them would betray him. The size of this painting is 100ft by 50ft which is equivalent to the size of a football field.

The Last Supper Symbolism

Two aspects of the Last Supper have been traditionally depicted in Christian art: Christ’s revelation to his Apostles that one of them will betray him and their reaction to this announcement, and the institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist with the communion of the Apostles.