New Chaplain for Holy Cross Hospitals in UtahNew Chaplain for Holy Cross Hospitals in Utah Father Gregory Ezeanya recently arrived in Utah to serve as chaplain at Holy Cross Hospitals’ five facilities along the Wasatch Front. He will work alongside Father Godwin Tema Nnamezie, who is director of mission integration, spiritual care, volunteer services and community health improvement for CommonSpirit Health, which operates Holy Cross Hospitals in Utah. Father Ezeanya, originally from Nigeria, Africa, was ordained a priest in 1989 for the Archdiocese of Onitsha. He has lived in the United States since 2008, serving as a Catholic chaplain in hospitals in Texas, Indiana, California, and most recently in Pueblo, Colorado. He became a U.S. citizen in 2013. Father Ezeanya’s call to the priesthood began at a young age. He joined the prayer group Block Rosary Crusade and became an altar boy. With his mother’s support, he entered the seminary in 1974 and later pursued higher education in philosophy and theology. His mission as a chaplain is to extend the hand of divine human goodness to all, regardless of their religious beliefs. He aims to make a difference by bringing the spirit of God’s love to those in need and fulfilling Christ’s mission to humanity. Father Ezeanya is fluent in Ibo, his native language, as well as English. He also studied Latin, French, Greek, and Hebrew in school.
Friday, July 5, 2024
By Laura Vallejo
Intermountain Catholic
SALT LAKE CITY — Father Gregory Ezeanya recently arrived in Utah to serve as chaplain at Holy Cross Hospitals’ five facilities along the Wasatch Front. He will work alongside Father Godwin Tema Nnamezie, who is director of mission integration, spiritual care, volunteer services and community health improvement for CommonSpirit Health, which operates Holy Cross Hospitals in Utah.
In 1989, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Onitsha in Nigeria, Africa. Since 2008, Father Ezeanya has lived in the United States, where he has worked as a Catholic chaplain in hospitals in Texas, Indiana, California, and for the past 10 years in Pueblo, Colorado. In 2013, he became a U.S. citizen.
“The invitation to come to Utah became a reality when I saw my dream job, serving human kindness, on the CommonSpirit website,” Father Ezeanya said of his arrival in Utah.
Father Ezeanya said he was fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work at Holy Cross Hospitals.
“I have long desired to touch humanity by caring for the sick and, in doing so, offering assistance to God’s needy children, thus bringing the divine mission of Christ to humanity,” he said.
“Here in Utah I have been warmly welcomed and welcomed over the past few weeks,” he said.
His call to the priesthood came when he was still young.
“As a little child I wanted to be an altar boy,” he said. “This wish was fulfilled and I became interested in leading the Mass together with the pastor, just for the joy of serving during the Mass.”
In the late 1960s, Father Ezeanya joined the prayer group Block Rosary Crusade, going from house to house in the evenings to pray the rosary in people’s homes. He also became an altar boy at Mass.
“By the special grace of God, I was supported by my mother, who did everything she could to get me on board to pursue that dream,” said Father Ezeanya.
In 1974, he entered the seminary to continue his education. Then, “when I was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1989, I was motivated to serve God through humanity, which culminated in providing care and comfort to God’s people through home health visits during sick leave and ultimately now in the hospital setting as a chaplain,” he said.
Father Gregory’s educational qualifications include an advanced degree in philosophy from Joseph’s Major Seminary in Ikot-Ekpene, Nigeria; a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Colorado State University-Pueblo; and a master’s degree in theology with a specialization in Roman Catholic theology and pastoral ministry from Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu, Nigeria.
Priesthood can be defined in one word: service, “and that means serving God through humanity,” he said, adding that, from the biblical standpoint, “priesthood is an important role of standing as watchmen in God’s house, offering sacrifices for God’s people and teaching the people so that they may enjoy God’s blessings. The purpose is that priests are enabled to act in God’s name for the salvation of the human family. Priesthood is God’s chosen people who are learned experts in the technique of worship and accepted as religious and spiritual leaders. These chosen people act in God’s name for the salvation of the human family, calling down God’s blessings upon them.”
His goal and expectation in serving CommonSpirit Holy Cross hospitals in Utah is “to extend the hand of divine human goodness to all of God’s children, regardless of their individual and personal religious beliefs, so that all nations will see and witness the great love of God, who loves his people and does not discriminate among them,” he said.
He wants to make a difference by “touching humanity by bringing the spirit of God’s love to them,” Father Ezeanya said. “This includes caring for the sick and bringing aid to God’s children in need — and as such, fulfilling Christ’s mission to humanity on earth.”
Father Ezeanya is fluent in his native African language, Ibo, as well as English, “because it is our second common language in my country Nigeria,” he said, adding that he studied Latin, French, Greek and Hebrew in school but is not at the level to speak these languages.
