History

The Catholic Men’s Guild at the Church of Assumption Falomo-Ikoyi, Lagos, is a society in the Church for only married and practising Catholic men. It was formed in 1990. Its existence to date, as a Society in the Church, is sui generis to the Church of the Assumption, Falomo.

The main task then was to continuously find ways of having religious dialogue among all the ethnic and religious groups with a view to finding better and longer-lasting ways of living in harmony with all our neighbours, despite our different backgrounds. As Nigerians, we had always prided ourselves on the slogan, “Unity in Diversity”. Here now was a test.

Does the Catholic Church teach harmony and peace?

We were determined from the start to explore various ways of answering this crucial question. At inception, we agreed to organise conferences, seminars, workshops and all other ways of bringing experts together to advise us and the nation on this vexed and other issues.

This is the inauguration photo of CMG

Our monthly meetings too would be used to educate members on the tenets of good governance and the fundamental difference between democracy and all other forms of government.

As Catholics, we know on good authority that, “Christ came to redeem all mankind… This world-wide spirit, rooted in the preaching of our Lord has been taken over in its full breadth and depth by the Catholic Church, and by her alone. The Church is not one society, one church alongside many others, nor is she just a church among men; she is the Church of men, the Church of mankind.” (Karl Adam – The Spirit of Catholicism)

With this strong conviction, the men approached the then Parish Priest, Rev.Fr. Noel O’Leary and requested to register a new society for serious minded married Catholic Men, to use as a platform where they could continue with their discussions.

The Parish Priest sought and obtained the permission from the Archbishop of the Diocese, and so in 1990, a new and unique society was born. The pioneer President of the Guild, was Justice Frederick Okwudili Anyaegbunam, OFR, CON, KSM, (Retired as Chief Judge of the Federal High Court), now late. From the start, the group had its work well spelt out. Under continuous good leadership, the group has made steady progress ever since.

The emphasis from the start has been making Catholic men play their God-given leadership role through a sound formation in Catholic doctrines and faith, in the defence of the Catholic Action.