Nigerian martyr Vivian Ogu on path toward canonization
By Sr. Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA
On 15 November 2009, Vivian Ogu spoke about the topic of virginity at her parish, St. Paul’s Catholic Church, on Sunday morning, and in the evening, she was forcefully abducted alongside her elder sister by three armed men who robbed her parents of their valuables.
Vivian opted to be killed by the armed men rather than being sexually defiled.
Fr. Stephen Dumbiri, the Director of ‘The Vivian Ogu Movement’, spoke with Vatican News in an interview on the life, death, and the process of her canonisation.
Vivian’s spiritual journey
“Vivian made a lot of pastoral and missionary impact in the Catholic apostolate of Benin City,” he said.
“She was always found instructing and guiding other kids on the necessity of maintaining purity and defending their virginity, even if it meant giving their lives,” affirmed Fr. Dumbiri.
Being passionate about the Lord, the 14-year-old girl joined an interdenominational group, where she maintained the position of Assistant Prayer Leader until her death, he noted.
According to Fr. Dumbiri, “Vivian played a prominent role in the yearly Teen Camp meetings which began in 2007” where they encouraged young people’s active participation in the Sunday Eucharist and further catechesis on the liturgy.
Vivian had a self-determined goal to live an exemplary Christian life, with which she inspired other young people to greater spirituality and love for humanity.
Even in a non-Catholic school, the 14-year-old girl joined an interdenominational group, where she maintained the position of Assistant Prayer Leader until her death.
She patterned her life after St. Maria Goretti, who became her model after reading about her and always teaching other children about her.
How she was martyred
After robbing the family of their valuables, the armed men took Vivian and her sister out of the house and attempted to rape them.
She kept telling her sister not to allow them, even if it meant they would be killed.
They were distracted by her insistency and in the process, her sister was able to escape.
Following a struggle with her assailants, she was shot dead and her body was found the following day, Fr. Dumbiri said.
Engagements in pastoral activities
At the age of nine, “the Servant of God began to publicly demonstrate her zeal and courage in speaking to other children on the dignity of purity and virginity.”
Vivian was quite young but very committed both at Church and school. She joined the Sunday School Community and later the choir said Fr. Dumbiri.
She almost always took part in special events organised by the Church, such as the yearly Children's Day Celebration, the Annual Children Mission Day, and the Christmas Carol Service, as well as the end-of-year Thanksgiving.
In addition, “she took part in almost all the activities in the parish community where the children are given the responsibility of organizing liturgical activities for the day,” said Fr. Dumbiri. “For liturgical celebrations, she would always take either the reading or prayer of the faithful.”
Through her inspiration, the parish council approved the children’s choir which grew from about twenty children to nearly sixty children at the time of her death.
Interestingly, according to Fr Dumbiri, “this choir frequently won first place in the various musical competitions organized by the Holy Childhood Association, from 2007 right up to the most recent ones”.
It is therefore not surprising that when the Holy Childhood Association (HCA) was inaugurated in the parish of St. Paul in 2006, Vivian was unanimously elected as the first president, Fr Dumbiri stated.
Canonization process
Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze, of Benin City, inaugurated the Vivian Ogu Movement, in March 2014.
On 26 October 2019, the Catholic Church in Nigeria gathered at Vivian Ogu Missionary Animation Centre for the national celebration of the extraordinary missionary month of October.
At this event, Pope Francis was represented by the president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso.
In May 2023, Archbishop Akubeze approved Christiana Marinelli, who is based in Rome, as the Postulator of the Cause.
The Archbishop received the Suplex Libellius on 12 September 2023, as issued by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints, and requested him to initiate the Cause for Canonization of Vivian Ogu.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria gave its approval that the cause of her beatification and canonization be opened on 14 September 2023.
Issuing of ‘Edict for the Cause’
The Edict on the cause for beatification and canonization of the Servant of God was read and pasted at the Holy Cross Cathedral on Saturday, 7 October 2023, by Archbishop Akubeze.
The edict, which would be for about two months, was issued to call on the public with testimonies on the life of Vivian Ogu that could be of good value for the cause.
According to Fr. Dumbiri, the Archdiocese of Benin City is pursuing the cause for the beatification and canonization of Vivian Ogu not just because she was killed for refusing to be raped but because she made a great impact in the life of so many young people, as well as her apostolic zeal for the Lord before her death.
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