Our Founding Father

Archbishop Patrick Ebosele Ekpu was born on October 26, 1931. He hails from Unuwazi in Uromi, Esan North East of Edo State, Nigeria. He started his primary school education at Government School, Uromi in 1939. By divine inspiration, he left his hometown in 1942 to Benin City where he schooled and completed his education at Holy Cross Primary School and St. Thomas Catholic School both in Benin City. By 1950, with the encouragement and support of the saintly and grass-root evangelizer, Brother Pius Igharo, he entered St. Paul Minor Seminary, Benin City. In September 1955, he was admitted to SS Peter and Paul Major Seminary then in Benin City until it was relocated to Ibadan in 1957. On the completion of his Philosophy and Theogical Studies.

He was ordained a Catholic Priest according to the Order of Melchizedek on July 7, 1963. His first pastoral assignment was to Iguobazuwa as a Curate and later Parish Administrator to St. Augustine, Ibusa (1964-67). In 1967-68, he served at Igueben from where he proceeded to the United States of America for further studies. While in America, precisely, on June 5 of 1971, he was nominated Co-adjutor Bishop of Benin City and on November 21, 1971, he was consecrated Bishop and succeeded Bishop Patrick Kelly on July 5, 1973 as Bishop of Benin City. He founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on April 6, 1975. He was however, bishop for 23 years and Archbishop for 12 years. In all, he served meritoriously for 35 years. His feast day is every March 17 (Feast of St. Patrick). He retired from active service on November 21, 2006. Until his retirement, he was the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Edo State and also of the South- South. He is a man of great treasure and very few words with a high sense of discipline. He is a paradigm of civility, has an inexhaustible patience; He is an untiring listener and an epitome of decency. He is a paragon of beauty, a calculated speaker, an intellectual colossus with undeterred courage and resolute faith. He has an impeccable integrity; a visionary and promoter of human dignity. He believes in uplifting the poor especially the women, He believes also in both the Nigerian and African culture.

This is why the Sisters he founded (Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) wear an Ashoke of buba and wrapper with traditional designs which they call Habit (traditional attire). is a very neat man with high sense of religious decorum; an apostle per excellence for Christ. He believes so much in Unity in diversityrsquo; hence, his main reason for founding the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as an aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). Little wonder, both his motto and that of the Congregation is "UT UNUM SINT" That they maybe (Jn.17:21).