PALM BEACH GARDENS | Since arriving in the United States and entering the seminary for the Diocese of Palm Beach in 2021, Father Jude Ogochukwu Okeke has made a lot of friends, and many of them were in attendance May 3, 2025, as he was ordained a priest for the diocese at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.
In welcoming the faithful to the celebration, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito thanked all who are instrumental in teaching the faith and preparing men for the priesthood at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, including Father Alfredo Hernández, rector and president. Particularly, the bishop singled out Father Okeke’s mother, Monica, who came from Nigeria to witness her son’s priestly ordination. Other family members were unable to obtain visas and had to watch the livestreamed liturgy.
“The gift is from God,” Monica told the Florida Catholic. “It was God who chose that he would be a priest. As his mother, I supported that. I thank God today for giving me a son. I’m so grateful.”
In accord with the ancient ordination rite, Father Daniel Daza-Jaller, director of vocations and seminarians for the diocese, proclaimed the readiness for priestly ministry of then-Deacon Okeke. Bishop Barbarito’s homily then focused on the meaning of priestly ministry and what the new priest’s Nigerian heritage brings to the diocese.
“Our diocese is known for its rich cultural background and enriches our presbyterate in a manner that shows the diversity of the entire church, so much present here in the Diocese of Palm Beach,” the bishop said, noting that the ordination was occurring on the feast of the Sts. Philip and James, both apostles, and that Father Okeke bears the name of an apostle.
“The call of Jesus to the apostles was an individual one, as it is to you, my brother. Christ did not call 12 men with identical personalities, backgrounds, talents and interests. They were all different,” he said.
“They were not supposed to be the same. But Jesus called them all to one mission, and that is to be yours today, my brother Jude. That is to serve the Lord as he has made you, in the particular way he has, just as he made each of the apostles. While the apostles remained as individuals, they were to be one in Jesus Christ,” Bishop Barbarito said.
The current state of the church, with the recent death of Pope Francis and a conclave starting soon to choose a new vicar of Christ to lead the church, reminds us that God chooses people with different gifts to carry out his mission, he added. “You are to lose yourself by becoming Christ in order to act in his person and help others appreciate the unique person which God made each of them to be, all called to a relationship with the Lord as well.”
Bishop Barbarito urged him to always minister in union with his bishop, the pope and the presbyterate he was joining today in order to serve the church with joy.
“The more one gets separated from that continuity of the church, the more one gets involved in ‘my mission,’ the more the joy of the priesthood goes away,” he said. “It is only by losing yourself that you find yourself, and only through prayer in union with Jesus is the foundation of that particular ministry.”
The ordination rite continued with the promise of the elect, with Deacon Okeke agreeing to live his priesthood in imitation of Christ; promising obedience to Bishop Barbarito and his successors; lying on the cathedral floor as a sign of humility and total abandonment while the congregation prays for the saints’ protection; the laying on of hands and kiss of peace by the bishop and other clergy; and anointing of his hands with holy oil.
To change vestments from diaconal to priestly, Father Okeke was assisted by fellow Nigerians, Father Leonard Dim, pastor of St. Matthew in Lake Worth Beach, and Father Franklin Ekezie of the Archdiocese of Miami, who said later that he helped facilitate Father Okeke’s move to the Diocese of Palm Beach.
“I feel good to witness his ordination. His journey started Sept. 6, 2021, when he came over, so today is a thing of joy,” Father Ekezie said.
At the end of the liturgy, Bishop Barbarito thanked all who had prepared for and participated in the celebration, including diocesan and seminary staff, the music ministry and many others. The bishop announced that Father Okeke would be assigned to Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach, effective July 1. His first Mass of thanksgiving as priest celebrant was May 4 at St. Vincent Ferrer in Delray Beach.
One of the most emotion-packed parts of the ordination was at the conclusion, when Father Okeke gave the bishop his first priestly blessing. Bishop Barbarito then kissed the newly ordained priest’s hands.
Among those who have gotten to know Father Okeke is Lisa Polajenko, mother of Father Marc Gustinelli, who was ordained a priest two years ago.
“I feel like all the seminarians are part of our family,” she said. “Because we live in Delray Beach, so often Marc would call and say, ‘Can I bring a couple of my friends for dinner?’ Well, the next thing you know there were five or six seminarians in the home with Marc, and we’d cook dinner for all of them. We kind of became their parents, my husband and me. That’s how I got to know them quite well, and Jude especially, because he has spent a lot of time at our home.”
Denise Lamberti, a parishioner of Ascension in Boca Raton who is involved with the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, spoke glowingly about attending the Mass, saying, “it’s just so beautiful.”
“I told my friend I was crying like I’m the mother. I’m like an idiot sitting there crying. But I couldn’t help myself,” she said.
To watch the recording of the ordination Mass, visit www.youtube.com/live/mt9mbR4CBeM. For information on vocations to the priesthood and religious life, contact Father Daza-Jaller at 561-775-9552 or vocations@diocesepb.org, go to www.palmbeachvocations.com or follow the Office of Vocations and Seminarians on Facebook and Instagram
Click here to view more pictures and read this on the Florida Catholic
