Religious Immigration Services (RIS) client Father Evaristus Chukwu was born in Nigeria and is a member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul (MSP). Fr. Evaristus works with the MSP fathers in Texas; the order serves in locations throughout the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Ordained in Nigeria in 2011, Fr. Evaristus came to the United States in 2014. Almost immediately, he was sent to Mexico for a three-month crash course in Spanish. Since then, Fr. Evaristus has worked in his order’s Houston office as well as in parishes. He currently is the order’s Vice Regional Superior as well as pastor of St. Martin de Porres parish in Barrett Station, Texas. Fr. Evaristus said the process of becoming a U.S. citizen was “pretty much smooth” for him. His naturalization ceremony took place in 2022.

Father grew up in southeastern and southwestern parts of Nigeria, where Christianity is the dominant religion. However, he was sent to seminary in the northern part of Nigeria, where Islamic militants pose some threats to Christians. He recalled that one of the best aspects of being a priest in Nigeria was how exciting it was to be celebrating the sacraments where his family also lived.

I asked Father what aspects of American culture have been challenging to adapt to. He said that although he is a native speaker of English, he has had to learn to speak slowly and carefully so that his accent is understood. He says Nigerians can be blunt, so he has learned to pick up on the nuances of how delicately Americans use certain phrases. Finally, he misses Nigerian dishes like grilled fish, jollof rice, and pepper soup. When he lived in Houston, he was able to visit Nigerian restaurants that served those dishes. However, now that he serves at a rural parish, he buys spices when he’s back in Nigeria and uses them to try to replicate his favorite Nigerian recipes as much as he can in his rectory kitchen.

When asked how being a priest in Nigeria compares with being a priest in the United States, Fr. Evaristus noted that he was a priest only three years in Nigeria and has been one for seven years in the United States.

I asked Fr. Evaristus what he would want people born in the United States to know about Nigerians. He said they are “very loving and very caring” as well as very industrious and ambitious. An interesting fact about Catholics in Nigeria that I learned from Father is that their Masses are held in English. At RIS, we are blessed to be able to welcome priests like Fr. Evaristus to serve the Church in the United States and give people born in here, with little experience outside of it, a chance to learn more about the global reach of the Church through interactions with clergy and religious from a variety of countries.