Fr Damian is burning for evangelism. Catholic City evangelization in north Sweden
- Bengt Malmgren
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Father Damian Eze was born in Nigeria. As a young man, he was anti-Christianity and saw the Catholic Church as a symbol of the colonial oppression. After a tumultuous conversion experience, he became a fervent Christian and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1995. From having been negative towards the charismatic renewal, his attitude changed after contact with charismatic groups in Nigeria. To his own surprise, he received a word of knowledge that made a great impression on those around him. (This is recounted in the book CREDO ERGO SUM where f Damian is interviewed by Johan Eddebo, PhD in philosophy of religion at Uppsala University).
In 2000, Fr Damian was sent to Sweden on behalf of the missionary order Missionaries of St. Paul (MSP) to work within the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm. Today he is the vicar of S:t. Josef the Worker's parish in Luleå. He has a missionary zeal that is reminiscent of the apostle Paul, and every year he organizes an evangelization drive, City evangelization, in Norrbotten (a region in north Sweden) together with his parishioners. This year it was in Gällivare. Carmen Carlsson reports:
"On July 24 – 25, people gathered opposite the Knowledge House in Gällivare to listen to this year's invited speakers. The theme of the event was 'You Shall Be My Witnesses' (Acts 1:8). Among this year's speakers were Fr. Damian O. Eze; Fr. Francisco Garcia, Catholic priest active in Haparanda; Fr. Conny Årlind, responsible for the pastoral work in southern Lapland and Philip Kuo, layman.
Every day, the event gathered about forty participants. During both days, the audience took part in lectures on Sweden's reevangelization, the Holy Spirit's work in evangelization and the role of the laity in Sweden and their importance for the life and development of the church. In addition to the lectures, the participants listened to several inspiring testimonies. Among other things, one person spoke about his conversion from the Lutheran Church to the Catholic Church, driven by a deep theological conviction. Another testimony was about how faith grew through marriage, the upbringing of children in the Catholic faith, and a personal discovery of the Catholic Church as the true faith. The days of evangelization ended with Holy Mass.
The City Evangelization is an annual event that aims to reach out and evangelize people throughout Norrbotten. Next year's event will take place in Kiruna on July 31, and the theme for City Evangelization 2027 will be "Caritas Christi urget nos" – "The love of Christ drives us" (2 Corinthians 5:14)."
Fr Damian has also previously participated in similar evangelization campaigns in Sweden, such as in Gävle and in Stockholm where he preached at the large ecumenical event Jesusmaifestation in 2010:
F Damian also uses social media in his evangelism and publishes sermons in Swedish and English on [the church's YouTube channel Levande Ord].
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