ST. AGNES NEWS
Our very dear Very Rev. Monsignor Joseph Adeolu Adeniyi, in residence with us at St. Agnes Maryland since 1995, died in the evening of 9th November 2011, aged 89.

(Monsignor Joseph Adeniyi, (8th June 1922 to 9th November 2011).  Rest in Peace, Papa).
Msgr. Adeniyi’s burial arrangements were put together jointly by the Archdiocesan Priests Welfare Committee chaired by Rev. Fr. Gabriel Amolegbe, but expanded to include the Episcopal Vicars, with the Vicar-General, Msgr. Bernard Okodua presiding, and St. Agnes Parish. 
The final interment of Monsignor Adeniyi took place yesterday at the Vault of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos in Ikoyi Cemetery.
The funeral events began on Tuesday 22nd November with Mass and Service of Songs at St. Agnes Catholic Church Maryland where he spent the last 16 years of his life. The Service of Songs included tributes by St. Agnes Parish, family and old students of St. Peter’s College, Abeokuta where Msgr. Adeniyi was Principal years ago.
From 6pm on Wednesday 23rd to 7.30am on 24th November, an all-night vigil of prayers which included Masses every 3 hours was held at St. Agnes. Anthony Cardinal Okogie, the Archbishop of Lagos celebrated the 6pm Mass with sermon by Msgr. Bernard Okodua; Fr. Julius Olaitan celebrated the 9pm Mass; Msgr. Philip Hoteyin was in charge at midnight Mass; Msgr. Jerome Oduntan elebrated the Mass at 3am while Fr. Raphael Adebayo was on at the 6am Mass. The body of Msgr. Adeniyi was taken to Holy Cross Cathedral for the funeral Mass at 10am, which was preceded by the lying in state inside the same church.

The chief celebrant at the funeral Mass was Bishop Albert Fashina of Ijebu Diocese while Msgr. John Aniagwu preached the homily, in the presence of over 100 priests, several Reverend Sisters and thousands of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Bishop Alfred Martins of Abeokuta Diocese presided over the commendation after which the body was taken to the Archdiocesan Vault in Ikoyi and committed to the earth by Msgr. Boyo. Msgr. Philip Hoteyin, and Rev. Frs. Julius Olaitan, Matthew Ayo Ogunyase, Raphael Adebayo and Fr. Julius from Ghana were also at the burial site. May the soul of Msgr. Joseph Adeniyi rest in peace, Amen.

PHOTOS OF FUNERAL MASS AND INTERMENT

TRIBUTES
A tribute to Msgr Joseph Adeolu Adeniyi
By Very Rev. Fr. Raphael Adebayo, Parish Priest, St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland
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'Mons!' 'Mons!!' I know your usual response of 'Boss' 'Boss' is so far away today that I can't hear it so well as I used to. All the same, many thanks for your wonderful and inspirational companionship over the past 25 years.
I vividly remember that day, the 24th day of October 1980 (the Solemnity of St. Raphael the Archangel in the old Liturgical Calendar), at the Holy Cross Cathedral when I heard a knock on my door at about 6.00a.m.  I opened the door; you were standing there with a parcel in your hand. Stretching out the parcel to me, you wished me a Happy Feast Day and you took off immediately. That was my first close encounter with you. What baffled me that day was the fact that a very senior Priest like you ever gave a thought to a mere Assistant Administrator who was not a year old in the Priesthood and one who was not yet conceived when you were ordained a Priest in January 1954!
I also remember very clearly one day, in 1986, while I was the Parish Priest at the Church of the Assumption, Falomo; you cheerfully asked whether you could come over and spend two weeks break in the Parish and we both agreed. Little did I realize that that would be the beginning of a fairly long journey together - a journey I will forever be grateful to God for sharing with you.
Funny enough, many did not understand the nature of this our journey together. Many did not appreciate that it was a journey in which you were giving more than you were receiving! Perhaps among other experiences of priestly life people saw you shared with me, only a few knew that you were my Confessor and Spiritual Director! Perhaps not so many also appreciated your high intelligence and sense of humour, because they didn't come close enough to you! You gave to me a lot of Pastoral support in attending to the Pastoral needs of the people of God and you were highly interested in the affairs of others, especially the needy and the helpless. When people were generous to you, I guess, little did they realize that such generosities passed through Mons, Mons as God's Channel to the needy!
What I appreciate in you most is the way and manner you cherished your Priesthood. You made your “motto” in life very clear to anyone who cared to know -  “N.M.M” --- 'Never Miss Mass'! The only challenge you encountered towards the end was the cross of your sight, which you bore gallantly! In spite of that, you tried your best to remain faithful to that noble 'motto'! One interesting query I shall miss from you is the question you always direct to me whenever you were hinted about transfer of priests in the Archdiocese - “Where are we being transferred to?'
On the Harvest day of St. Agnes, Maryland, this year, which was celebrated on the 6th of November 2011, you were very happy in your room, loudly singing and chanting assorted Easter hymns in English and in Latin, instead of the occasional Requiem chants you used to sing that way. Little did any of us suspect the closeness of time.  In fact, when I was taking off for my two- week break in the evening of Tuesday, the 8th of November, and came to kneel down for your blessing, little did I notice or suspect that the time was so close. You gave me your blessing, and less than 24 hours after that, when  I had already gone very far away, I got the information that the Lord has called you up to Himself. Please rest perfectly in his bosom. Amen
I keep thanking God for members of your family, for the love and care they showered upon you, especially in your last days, in particular, your sister, Mrs. Henrietta Olaitan Antonio. Immense gratitude also goes to our dear Archbishop, Anthony Cardinal Okogie for his love and kindness towards you. A word of appreciation also to Parishioners of Church of the Assumption, Falomo; St. Paul’s, Ebute-Metta; St. Anthony's, Gbaja, Surulere; and special thanks also to Parishioners of St. Agnes Maryland for making wonderful sacrifices to celebrate landmarks generously in our Papa's life. A good number of our Priests and Rev. Sisters were also his pals especially in his last days. This note of appreciation will not be complete without specifically mentioning the Rev. Sisters, the Doctors and staff of our Parish Clinic at St Agnes, Maryland. God bless you all!

‘MONS MONS’ – ST. AGNES PARISH WILL MISS YOU GREATLY!

A Tribute To Very Rev. Monsignor Joseph Adeolu Adeniyi, (1922 – 2011)

We, the Parishioners of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland want the entire world to know how dear Papa Monsignor Joseph Adeolu Adeniyi was to our heart, and we all also know how dear we were to his gentle heart too! Two weeks ago - Wednesday, 9th November 2011, he had a beautiful, peaceful exit, even though it was unexpected to us, in spite of his age. The earth is literally shuddering from the loss of "Our Monsignor" because we all have been saddened by his death.
The death of a priest brings special sorrow to the people of any parish. Something beautiful seems to have been taken away. Monsignor Adeniyi’s death is no less so. May he rest in the arms of Christ forever, Amen. ‘Mons Mons’ as he was fondly called was undoubtedly a well-loved patriarch of the one big happy family of St. Agnes. While we mourn his passing, it is also appropriate to celebrate his life and love for us in St. Agnes. And so we will!
What touched us the most about Monsignor was his gentleness and humility, his love for God’s people – our family and parishioners, his acceptance of the cross of illness, and his steadfast faith as he prepared to meet the Lord Jesus, many a time singing Requiem chants in his ground floor room in the Rev. Fr’s House.

When we look at the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we contemplate our Lord’s love and we can remember His words to His disciples in Mathew 11:29 - ‘Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart.’ Msgr. Adeniyi truly learned from Jesus. His gentle and humble heart, his priestly heart, reflected the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We give thanks for the gift of Msgr. Adeniyi’s life and priesthood. We also pray for him and we commend him to the Lord whom he served, praised and honoured to the end.

‘Mons Mons’ loved the Mass; O yes he did! And he loved to chant the Preface in Latin when given the opportunity. You get the impression and the feeling that any celebrating Priest that allowed Monsignor to sing the Preface in Latin has made his day. There were times you felt that Papa Mons bulldozed his way to sing it, especially with visiting Priests. But sing it he did, and with a lot of gusto, a lot of passion and a lot of enjoyment!

Three days before his death, on Sunday November 6, 2011, which was our adult harvest day, he sang and danced, even before Mass began! He was so happy and he showed it. The next two days, he attended Masses, to fulfil his motto of ‘NMM’, which meant ‘Never Miss Mass’. Yes, he always tried not to miss Mass, no matter what, unless the body was too weak. We are sure he will also never miss any Mass in his Father’s house above.
 
Monsignor Joseph Adeolu Adeniyi was born on June 8, 1922 and the story is that he was one of those who did not have to attend the Minor Seminary, having been admitted in the late 40s direct into Ss Peter & Paul Major Seminary, Benin City, after already graduating from St. Gregory’s College, Lagos and working for some time. He was ordained in 1954. He had a head for figures and was a renowned Mathematics teacher, and became Principal of St. Peter’s College, Abeokuta. There are many old students of St. Peter’s here today and out there who will sorely miss him.

Monsignor Adeniyi seemed to have privately known he was going to his maker in the last days before he left us. He gave several parishioners a list of things to do for him and for others... some of the items on the list should have alerted us that the great Priest of God was ready to move on; but as humans, we did not take him seriously.

We will greatly miss him because many of us who have been in St. Agnes less than 16 years do not really know St. Agnes without ‘Mons Mons’. In these last years that he has been in residence with us, we have learned the beauty of a good, holy, humble Priest.

And in these last two weeks that he has gone, we have understood more clearly in this great loss, how important Priests are for us, no matter how old or how young they may be. Some of us have for the first time seen the Catholic priesthood in all its beauty and have grieved when Msgr. was taken from us. We must now join our Archbishop and Priests and ask God to send us more men of good quality to replace Monsignor and other good Priests who teach us and our children, and celebrate Masses and pray for us and our families.

A few hours after Monsignor passed on, we had a posting on the Social Media network, Facebook to announce his passing. There were several beautiful comments from many parishioners, friends, Priests, Religious, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, from all over the world. One of the postings was from our newest St. Agnes priest-son, Fr. Philip Ojibo who had left Nigeria the previous week for his missionary work in Germany. Fr. Philip wrote: ‘Wow, may his soul rest in peace. I am grateful to God I con-celebrated with a living saint before his departure. God bless Fr. Adebayo for taking care of him’.

Safe home, dear Monsignor, safe home. Go placidly. May the angels lead you into paradise. May the martyrs receive you at your coming, Amen.
Sleep on, beloved Monsignor. Good night!