Young Catholic Professionals

THE BIRTH OF YOUNG CATHOLIC PROFESSIONAL (YCP)

The year 2000 was the declared a jubilee year in the Universal Church and in thinking of a presentable gift offering to God, the then Parish Priest Very Rev. Fr. Ethelbert Ukpabi recognized that there was a vacuum in the Church as a result of which young people were leaving the Catholic for other churches and this raised a concern about how to cater to this group of parishioners, with a view to keeping them involved in the church to boost their sense of belonging in the Catholic Fold.

At this point he realized that there were programs that cater to the needs of the Men (CMO), Women (CWO), Youth (CYON) and Children within the Church leaving an unattended gap of the young, upwardly mobile men and women in the Church. As a result it became imperative to create a program to cater to the people that make up this gap. After announcement in church on two consecutive Sundays, Very Rev. Father Ethelbert Ukpabi brought professionals together.

Precisely On June 15th 2000 after evening Mass in the Catholic Church of The Assumption, Falomo.  Father Ethelbert Ukpabio met with an impressive turnout of young professionals in the parish hall. Some of those in attendance admitted that after Mass they often go to other places in search of programs to meet their spiritual and professional needs which were not readily catered to in the church.

Mr. Bafor Amatesiro while speaking to the Young Catholic Professional recalled Very Rev. Father Ethelbert Ukpabi’s opening speech on that day, as follows

“…Ladies and gentlemen I have decided to call you together because you are the future of the church and as the future of the church you must come together to preserve and protect the doctrines of the church amongst yourselves and for the coming generation…”

 After addressing the gathering, He left the hall, having charged them with the responsibility of developing Personal, Spiritual and professional development targeted programs as a means of their own gift back to God, through service in the church. The group of professionals subsequently set about working on the structure of the organization, trying out names, selecting people for leadership roles, and thus emerged the first team of Executives led by Mr. Bobby Ikhazobo as the interim president and Mr. Bafor Amatesiro in the role of Vice President. .

Over the next few months, the initial gathering of about 500 people gradually dwindled with the fine tuning of name, functions and procedures for getting the organization up and running, many of the members agreed on ‘YOUNG’ being a part of the name as it was something they all had in common, and the legal practitioners were charged with drafting the guiding constitution. It was also decided that for formal occasions male and female members would adhere to a corporate dress codes of suits and dresses I black and white, while military personnel members were to attend in their ceremonial wear.

When it was time to choose a patron saint it was between Saint Joseph (the recognized saint of workers) and Saint Augustine, after studying their history Saint Augustine suited better because firstly he was of African descent and his life was a life of inquisition, adventure and overcoming of hurdles, which were very relatable for the young ones forging their own pathways in life. The Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) was born as a jubilee gift to God, with a key principle that encouraged members to be little oasis in their various places of work! The birth and growth of YCP created new wave in church, and the drive of its members was unmistakable. The members took up the responsibility of becoming each other’s keepers, through and beyond, weekly meetings and fellowships within the parish and outside in the nearby neighborhoods of Ikoyi and Victoria Island, attracting fellow colleagues and friends, including non-parishioners.

Member of YCP also embraced their duties as keepers of the church community, through valuable initiatives and outreach programmes such as the: Beautification the parish’s immediate surrounding; the Youth Educational Support Scheme (YESS) Programme aimed at getting deserving youths who were unable to afford quality education, into good universities and polytechnics an initiative which was supported by MDs of institutions such as Standard Trust Bank, BGL, SPG and likeminded individuals.

Other initiatives included the Harvest Walk- thought out by Ms Stella Offong-Ekpe now Mrs Stella Emmanuel; and community service initiatives such as ‘The Soup Kitchen’ which held monthly where YCP members came out after mass and cooked for the local community particularly the less privileged. Again this was guided by the principle that whatever was shared to the public had to be of the same standards as what the members themselves would consume. YCP’s other programs aimed at deepening the faith of its members, occasionally even inviting priests from around the world to speak to the members and help them grow in faith.

The YCP’s involvement in developmental activities, created enormous attraction to the group, within the parish and from visiting Catholics alike, so much that visiting members would take the initiative back to their parishes, and thus gradual spread of YCP began through various chapters within the Lagos Archdiocese.  The greatest thing YCP achieved then was being  able to make young Catholics  live up their  faith, as there were increasing testimonies of people who were already leaving the Catholic Church but returned home to serve God, and one another. Over the years, YCP has enjoyed relative spread across the diocese, and was equally weakened by migrations of some of its active members, however, the passion for developing a stronger catholic community by actively engaging the young ones has neither left its founding members nor the parish as a body. This same goal has seen the revival and strengthening of the current YCP today, with a new age of young professionals standing on the shoulders of those before us who continue to encourage the journey. YCP hosts existing and new members to weekly spiritual, professional development and social programs impacting young lives; and hopes to gain wider support of established professionals and growth driven individuals in various fields to accomplish its goals.

Thank you.

Compiled & Written by 2015-2018 Board of Excos of YCP Falomo(Mother Parish) at the occasion of their Reunion Day/15^th Anniversary & Feast Day Celebration on Saturday 2017 August 2015.