Reverend Father Michael Cyprian Iwene Tansi was born On September 1903 to the Tabansi family in South East Nigeria (name meaning "continue to bear evil patiently") of Igboezunu-Aguleri and his wife Ejikwevi of Nteje. This child was given the name Iwene (in full, Iwemmaduegbunam, meaning "let human malice not kill me"). He has three brothers: Ifekwunigwe ("there is strength in numbers"), Obadiegwu (later baptised as Vincent), Ekemezie (Stephen); and a sister: Obianma. Small Iwene in 1909 is sent by his parents to the "Christian village" of Aguleri to live in the house of his maternal aunt and uncle (Robert Orekie).


Iwene was baptised on 7th January, 1912 and given the name Michael. He was baptized when he was 9 years old with the Christian name, Michael. His baptism affected him deeply even at such a young age and he shocked his non-Christian parents by daring to destroy his own personal idol, traditionally given to every male child at birth.

Michael was taken to Onitsha in 1913 to begin his primary education at Holy Trinity School. In 1919 he obtains First School Leaving Certificate at St. Joseph's School, Aguleri. This certificate made him eligible to teach. The following year 1920 he began to teach at Holy Trinity School Onitsha. And 1924 he returned to his former school, St Joseph’s School Aguleri to become the headmaster.


At the age of 22, after several years of working as catechist and schoolteacher, he entered St. Paul's Seminary, Igbariam in 1925. He was the Procurator at the Training College in 1932 before starting his probation at Umulumgbe (Eke) from 1933 to 1934.

He was ordained a priest for the Onitsha diocese in 1937 at the age of 34 by Bishop Charles Heerey in the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Onitsha.


As priest he worked zealously in Eastern Nigeria for 13 years, selflessly serving the religious and material needs of his people. The new priest, Father Michael Tansi first assignment was to Nnewi from 1937 to 1939 as Assistant Priest to Father John Cross Anyogu(later Bishop). He was appointed the first Parish Priest of Dunukofia in 1939.While in Dunukofia, Fr Tansi founded pre-matrimonial women centres. One of Fr. Michael Iwene's special undertakings was marriage preparation for girls. In this he was aided by the local religious sisters. For several months the young women would be taught home cleaning, domestic science, and catechism. Michael would not permit the fiancées to live with their prospective husbands before the wedding, as many Nigerian women did and are still doing today. He was particularly eager to give young people a good preparation for marriage and to counteract the tradition of "trial marriages" which prevailed among the pagans at that time. In 1945 he was transferred to Akpu/Ajalli as Parish Priest and in 1949 he was assigned to his hometown Aguleri as Parish Priest. Father Tansi travelled on foot to visit his widely scattered parishes, would spend days hearing confessions and was always available to the people in their needs, day and night. The large Christian populations of many Igbo villages are a present witness to his zeal.


However, in spite of all he was doing, he felt the call to serve God in a more direct way in a life of contemplation and prayer and, if possible to bring the contemplative monastic life to Nigeria. Father Tansi began his monastic journey with a pilgrimage to Rome. In 1950 his Bishop was able to free him to try his vocation at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, near Nottingham, England and on 2nd July 1950 he was accompanied by Archbishop Heerey his Archbishop. He arrived at Leicester, in the Cistercian Monastery of Mount St. Bernard, England. This is in view of founding a contemplative monastery in the diocese of Onitsha. He was an Oblate of the Monastery from 1950 and was received into the Novitiate in 1952.

On 8th July 1953, Father Tansi took the simple vows. His new name in the monastery was Father Cyprian. The complete change of lifestyle, particularly living under obedience when he had been a leader of people, the change of climate, food and most of all the culture shock were severe tests, but he was convinced that this was where God wanted him to be. On 8th July 1956 he took his monastic solemn vows.


Father Mark Ulogu, another Nigerian (Igbo) priest, joined him a year later. In 1962 Mount Saint Bernard decided to make the foundation in Africa, Father Mark Ulogu became Abbot of the new African foundation at Bamenda but for various reasons it was made in the neighbouring country of Cameroon, near Bamenda, rather than in Nigeria.

Although he was appointed as Novice Master of the foundation, Father Cyprian was too sick to go. He died at the Royal Infirmary of Leicester on 20 January 1964 a few months after the departure of the founders of the new African House. There was a Requiem Mass and burial for Father Cyprian in the cemetery of the Monastery on the 22nd of January 1964.


The reputation for holiness that he had left in Nigeria before going to Mount Saint Bernard never ceased to grow. After his death, many people claimed to have received favours through his intercession. On the Commemoration of the 10 anniversary Mass of his death at Holy Trinity Cathedral on the 20 January 1974 Archbishop Francis Arinze began the spade work on the possibility of promoting the cause of Tansi's beatification. The process for his beatification was opened in the diocese of Nottingham, then transferred in 1986 to the Archdiocese of Onitsha, whose Archbishop was the present Cardinal Francis Arinze. Cardinal Francis Arinze was among the first children baptized by Father Tansi when he was a young parish priest. On 20th January 1986, Archbishop Stephen Ezeanya the new Archbishop of Onitsha inaugurated the Onitsha Archdiocesan Tribunal for the Cause of Fr. Tansi. The request was made for his remains to be brought back to Nigeria. The request was granted and on the 12th September 1986 his remains were exhumed and flown to Nigeria on 19th September 1986. After a solemn concelebrated Mass, his remains were reinterred at the Priests' cemetery beside Holy Trinity Cathedral Onitsha on 17th October 1986. At the re-interment of Fr. Tansi’s remains, a girl with advanced stage of cancer was miraculously cured.


On the 21st May 1990, Archbishop Ezeanya submitted the Acts of the Archdiocesan Tribunal for the Cause of Fr. Tansi to the Congregation for the Cause of Saints in Rome. This marks the beginning of the beatification process.

On March 22, 1998, at Onitsha, during a trip to Nigeria made for that very purpose, Pope John Paul II beatified Father Cyprian Michael Tansi, proclaiming him to be a model of priestly zeal and prayer.

Francis Arinze was born in Eziowlle, Anambra State, Nigeria on the 1st of November 1932. He is a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Arinze is currently Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, having served as prefect from 2002 to 2008. He is also Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni (succeeding Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI) since 2005. Arinze was one of the principal advisors to Pope John Paul II, and was considered papabile before the 2005 papal conclave, which elected Benedict XVI. Cardinal Arinze was on a short list of candidates to succeed Pope John Paul II.

At age 15, he entered All Hallows Seminary of Onitsha from which he graduated and earned a degree in philosophy 1950. His father was initially opposed to his entering the seminary, but after seeing how much Francis enjoyed it, he encouraged him. Arinze stayed at All Hallows until 1953 to teach. In 1955, he went to Rome to study theology at the Pontifical Urban University, where he ultimately earned a doctorate in sacred theology summa cum laude. On 23 November 1958, at the chapel of the university, Arinze was ordained to the priesthood by Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian, pro-prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and future cardinal.

After ordination, Father Arinze remained in Rome, earning a master's in theology in 1959 and doctorate in 1960. His doctoral thesis on "Ibo Sacrifice as an Introduction to the Catechesis of Holy Mass" was the basis for his much used reference work, "Sacrifice in Ibo Religion", published in 1970. From 1961 to 1962, Arinze was professor of liturgy, logic, and basic philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary. From there, he was appointed regional secretary for Catholic education for the eastern part of Nigeria. Eventually, Arinze was transferred to London, where he attended the Institute of Education and graduated in 1964.

Francis Arinze became the youngest Roman Catholic bishop in the world when he was ordained to the episcopate on 29 August 1965, at the age of 32. He was appointed titular bishop of Fissiana, and named coadjutor to the Archbishop of Onitsha, Nigeria. He attended the final session of the Second Vatican Council in that same year along with the 45 year old Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, Karol Wojtyla, later Pope John Paul II. Following the death of the Archbishop of Onitsha in February 1967, Arinze was appointed to the position a few months later, on 26 June 1967. He was the first native African to head his diocese, succeeding Archbishop Charles Heery, an Irish missionary.

The new Archbishop did not have much time to settle into his office before the Nigeria-Biafra War broke out. The entire archdiocese was located in the rebellious Biafran territory. As a result of the war, Archbishop Arinze had to flee the city of Onitsha and to live as a refugee, first in Adazi and then Amichi, for the three years of the war, which lasted from 1967 to 1970.

Despite his own refugee status, Archbishop Arinze worked tirelessly for refugees, displaced persons, the sick and the hungry, offering support to priests and religious, and giving the faithful hope for the future. With the help of foreign missionaries, he supervised what one international relief worker called one of "the most effective and efficient distributions of relief materials" in history. He also took care to keep the Church separate from the ongoing political conflict, gaining the respect of all factions in the country.

Francis Arinze was still Archbishop of Onitsha when the Nigeria-Biafra war ended in 1970. Onitsha was a part of Biafra, and the region and its people had suffered greatly in the three-year war. The homes and businesses of the people had been devastated, and the already poor region was sinking deeper into poverty. The end of the war did not mean an end to the challenges facing the young Archbishop. The Nigerian government deported all foreign missionaries stationed in the archdiocese, leaving only the native clergy and religious, who were few in number. The government also confiscated the Catholic schools, most of which also served as churches or parish halls.

On 8 April 1985, Arinze resigned from his post in Onitsha, and the Pope named him a Cardinal Deacon, with the title of S. Giovanni della Pigna, little more than a month later in the consistory held on 25 May 1985; he was raised to the rank of Cardinal Priest in 1996. Two days following his elevation to Cardinal Deacon, Arinze was appointed President of Interreligious Dialogue, holding the office until 1 October 2002, when he was named Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. All major Vatican officials automatically lose their positions during a sede vacante, and so, the cardinal lost his position on 2 April 2005 due to the death of the Pope.

The Cardinal actively catechizes via Familyland TV to the Americans, the Philippines, Africa, and Europe. He has produced over 1,700 television programs with the Apostolate for Family Consecration. The programs cover almost all of Pope John Paul II's encyclicals and apostolic letters, Vatican II, and many other topics. He is also the author of several books along with a complete "Consecration and Truth Catechetical Program" for children and adults.

Arinze was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. He returned to his post as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments when confirmed by Benedict XVI on 21 April 2005. Four days later, on 25 April 2005, he was advanced to Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni, which had been vacated by the ascension of Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy. On 9 December 2008 Benedict XVI. accepted the resignation of Arinze as prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship. His successor is Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera.

Cardinal Arinze will be eligible to participate and vote in any future conclaves before his 80th birthday on 1 November 2012.

Arinze's service on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue thrust the Cardinal into a position of increased visibility to the world public. On 8 May 1994, he presided at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter's Basilica as President of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. On 24 October 1999, he received a gold medallion from the International Council of Christians and Jews for his outstanding achievements in inter-faith relations. He traveled extensively and became a popular speaker in the United States, where he cultivated many devotees of his pastoral leadership.

(Courtesy: irondequoitcatholic.org, blessedtansi.com, en.wikipedia.org)

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