Meet the first native Nigerian priest

Father Paul Emechete became the first native Nigerian Catholic priest upon his ordination in 1920.

Born in southern Nigeria in 1888, Emechete encountered the Catholic Church through mission schools and traveling catechists following the arrival of missionaries in his hometown. He was baptized in 1898. His conversion led to the conversion of 16 relatives, including his father.

As a young man, Emechete left his local community to seek employment to support his widowed mother. While working for a merchant, he was imprisoned following an accusation of fraud.