A Nigerian Catholic nun who died on 15 March while rescuing more than 300 students during a fire outbreak is fondly remembered as a role model for school teachers and administrators.
In an emotional message, a Catholic Priest, Fra Francis U. Ezeh OFMCap stated that Sister Henrietta Alokha of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SSH), “played the role of a good shepherd to her students, by running back into a collapsing building to rescue children who were trapped during Sunday Mass.”
Bethlehem Girls College, Abule Ado, Lagos, during the fire incident. Credit: Fra Francis U. Ezeh OFMCap
The Principal of Bethlehem Girls College in Abule Ado, Lagos, where the fire outbreak occurred, died tragically while rescuing her students during a massive gas pipeline explosion, saving numerous students from the burning, collapsing school chapel.
Ezeh, a gosple artist and a member of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars in Nigeria, highlighted that “she was a Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a congregation that is recognised as one of Nigeria’s first Female indigenous religious congregations founded by the late Archbishop Patrick Ebosele Ekpu on April 6, 1975.”
The College during the ugly incident. Credit: Fra Francis U. Ezeh OFMCap
The religious priest who describes himself as an “ambassador of the Church’s teachings” both online and offline, prayed “that someday the Catholic Church will begin her process of Canonisation and recognise her as a model for school teachers and administrators of schools.”
According to him, Sister Henriata, who “laid down her own life in the process” of saving her students, will continue to be remembered “as a hero.”
