'JOY IN MY HEART'

Deacon Charles Onyeneke walks around the altar space of his parish, Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake.

He notices another man sitting in the church pews, praying and looking around. Onyeneke waves to him, “How are you doing?” he asks. The two talk and Onyeneke cracks a laugh; it’s an infectious laugh, one that lights up a room and makes others smile just from having heard it.

Being here — inside a church, talking with his people — is where Onyeneke is meant to be. Since he was a child, Onyeneke dreamed of serving the people of God and guiding them in their troubles.

On Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10 a.m., Onyeneke will fulfill his dream and be ordained into the Priesthood at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. The combined Priesthood Ordination Rite and Diaconate Ordination Rite will be celebrated by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, with 11 men ordained to the Diaconate, eight men to the Permanent Diaconate and three men to the Transitional Diaconate. Onyeneke is the only man being ordained to the Priesthood this year.

“There is this joy in my heart,” Onyeneke said. “This is something I want to be; this is something I wanted to be since childhood so I feel so joyful that my dream of what I want — to be able to serve the people of God — is coming to real life.”

CORPUS CHRISTI

As part of his path to the priesthood, Onyeneke has been serving as a transitional deacon at Corpus Christi since May 2019. Deacon Andrew Haskins spoke highly of his fellow man of faith, saying that Onyeneke’s time at Corpus Christi has left an impact on the parishioners, mainly through his joyous spirit.

“He was always happy, always joyful,” said Haskins. “He smiles ear-to-ear all the time. He’s gifted by God for what he’s called to do. It’s been a pleasure serving alongside him.”

Haskins serves as a full-time deacon but with a full-time job on top of his vocation it can be difficult to make everything work. Having Onyeneke at the church “was a huge help for Father Rick (Lesser, pastor).”

Sharon Ryan, head of bereavement ministry, said Onyeneke “was involved in just about everything.” From bereavement to adoration to the Rosary, “he wanted to see what the parish did,” she said.

Ryan first met Onyeneke at a bereavement meeting right after he joined Corpus Christi. “He has a deep desire to learn,” she said, and not just the mechanics of “how a parish works, but what the people did.”

Barbara Wallis, pastoral associate for administration, greeted Onyeneke every morning at the parish office. “He’d come in and say, ‘Good morning, Barb!’ And you’re just happy when he comes in.”

For an extrovert like Onyeneke, it was hard to serve Corpus Christi during the pandemic. While Masses were postponed and parish gatherings were cancelled, Wallis said Onyeneke was “chomping at the bit” to service parishioners somehow, but safety had to come first.

“He couldn’t visit the isolated or homebound,” Wallis said. “It was a tough time for him to not be with those he knew were in need.”

When Masses and sacraments at the parish started back up again, Onyeneke got right back into things. For the past few weeks, he’s been helping to celebrate Masses and baptisms with Father Lesser. Wallis added that Onyeneke is a gifted singer, and would love to sing during parts of prayer service.

“We’re going to miss him very much,” Wallis said. “He says ‘Hi’ to everybody, and he’s very serious when you need someone to listen to.”
Added Ryan: “Whoever gets him (as a priest) is very blessed. He’ll be a great priest, I’m sure of it.”

STARTING A JOURNEY

Born and raised in Imo State, Nigeria, Onyeneke grew up with a strong Catholic faith instilled by his parents and seven older siblings (four brothers and three sisters). At 8 years old, he became an altar server for his parish. Then, just a few years later, at 12 years old, he entered St. Peter Claver Seminary in Okpala, Nigeria. The junior seminary Onyeneke attended is like the equivalent of a Catholic high school in the U.S.

“It is so common in Nigeria,” he said of attending junior seminary. Not all students who attend the junior seminary will go on to become priests, but students who are interested in the vocation can discern their future while receiving their education.

Onyeneke was one of a handful of students who graduated with the priesthood still in mind.

“One of the things that pushed me to become a priest was a love of the Eucharist,” he said. “I wanted to celebrate Mass, so as I continued to grow up in seminary, I found not just the love of the Eucharist but the zeal to serve the people of God, because I love the people of God.”

Onyeneke said that it was hard to be away from his family while attending school, but he still felt it was the right path to take: “It was so hard because you have to leave your family when you are so young, but because you want to become a priest it gives you joy that you are leaving your family for your purpose, which is to become a priest and serve the people of God.”

Onyeneke added that pursuing the priesthood gave him some power among his older siblings: “They treated me like a king,” he laughed.

Onyeneke graduated from St. Peter Claver and went on to receive degrees in philosophy from both Imo State University in Owerri and the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. He began working as a teacher and dean of Student Affairs at Father Cloonan Memorial Secondary School in Emekuku, Nigeria. After, he returned to university and received a Bachelor of Arts in theology from Imo State University and a Bachelor of Divinity in theology from Pontifical Urban University.

Then, in 2015, Onyeneke’s path changed. He moved to the United States for his Master of Arts in theology from Saint Leo University in Florida with hopes of becoming a professor of theology, not a priest. “I left Nigeria to get my Masters, not become a priest,” he said, briefly putting off God’s call.
As part of his journey, he noted how much his professors at Saint Leo helped him integrate into American culture, mainly through their empathy and ability to listen to him as an immigrant.

“When I came (to the U.S.), it was difficult because it was another culture and I didn’t know anybody,” he said. “But the (Benedictine) monks and professors in Florida gave me listening ears … so it wasn’t that difficult for me to assimilate because some people gave me listening ears and they heard my story.”

Onyeneke said his transition into the United States inspired his thesis on undocumented immigrants in America: “All these immigrants you seeing here have stories, and someone needs to listen to them in order to help them assimilate into the society. Someone listened to me and it was so easy, and because they listened to me, I was able to go where I needed to go and be where I needed to be. It wasn’t that difficult. I was so lucky to get someone who heard my story and put me where God wanted me to be.”

Maybe Florida was where God needed Onyeneke to be, because after graduating, he hesitated to become a professor. “God was still calling me to become a priest,” he said. Onyeneke noted that “a priest is also a teacher” to his people and he hopes to apply his teaching skills to his parishioners.

In 2017, Onyeneke was accepted into the Albany Diocese and was placed to study at Saint Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore where he graduated with a Licentiate in sacred theology with a concentration in moral theology. In May 2019, he was ordained a transitional deacon and began his pastoral year at Corpus Christi.

Now, Onyeneke looks forward to his time as a priest. While his family will be unable to attend his ordination in person, Onyeneke said the celebration will be livestreamed and everyone back home will be watching.

“I’m looking forward to being with the people of God,” he said, “to be in the parish and to serve the people of God and to (help) solve (their problems). I love the people and doing my sacramental work for them.”