Nigerian priests sees how 'church is one' in Boone visit

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

A priest from Nigeria who helped make it possible for students at Sacred Heart School in Boone to pray a rosary via Zoom two years ago with their counterparts in the African country, recently visited the diocesan Catholic school.

Visit to Iowa
Father Paul Miapkwap, a diocesan priest from the Diocese of Shendam in Nigeria, visited the Diocese of Sioux City on Sept. 3 and 4.

Having the opportunity to visit with Sacred Heart students who had formed a bond with students from Nigeria, he noted, about brought tears to his eyes.

“I could see the whole universality – the church is one,” he said. “The visit was very positive, I say from the depths of my heart.”

Deb Franzenburg, development and marketing director for Ascension Parish and Sacred Heart School, pointed out that during Catholic Schools Week of 2022 the school wanted to connect with other students in another country. She had made arrangement on Sacred Heart’s end and Father Paul did so in Nigeria with the initial connection made through the Children’s Rosary organization.

Father Paul and Deb FranzenburgShe recalled how emotional that online prayer connection had been two years ago with the Nigerian bishop, religious sisters and others coming together for the rosary held in Cathedral of Sacred Heart, just another little tie.“All of these things lined up just right. Father Paul was agreeable on meeting with us – not everyone is comfortable with technology,” Franzenburg said, noting that in the spring of 2022 the students from Sacred Heart School and Nigeria met again online to pray the rosary.

Father Paul, who arrived in the United States on July 4 and will return to Rome Sept. 9, was ordained in 2012 and in 2015 was appointed by his bishop as the chaplain of the Family and Human Life Commission. It was that year at the World Meeting of Families, when he met Blythe Kaufman, founder of the Children’s Rosary group. From there, he introduced the Children’s Rosary in Nigeria.

It was through that Children’s Rosary, a prayer group movement for children, that the students from the two countries connected and how Father Paul and Franzenburg formed a friendship.

Recalling the first time the two schools prayed together in 2022, the priest noted the Nigerian children were so happy because it was such a unique experience for them. And while time differences made it a bit of a challenge to connect in real-time remotely, Father Paul and Franzenburg would share messages with the students and stay abreast of each other’s activities on Facebook.

“There was something that happened that was very, very impressive for us. They sent rosaries for us,” said the priest, noting that his bishop was very happy and distributed the rosaries to the students.

When he arrived at the parish, he was able to attend 5:30 p.m. daily Mass at St. Malachy in Madrid. It was after that Mass that Franzenburg met Father Paul in person for the first time.

The next day was spent at school. The day started in church where all students gathered to11 meet Father Paul and pray a decade of the Children’s Rosary – which is always led by children to help form them as leaders - and then he visited with groups of students, a few grades at a time.Quite curious
“They had a lot of questions,” the priest said, noting they asked about school in Nigeria. He explained there are no lights in the classrooms and the school does not provide lunch. The students also inquired about how people lived in Nigeria, what animals they have there and more. “They were very curious.”

As he visited Sacred Heart School, Father Paul said, “One of the things that really touched me is I saw a lot of pictures that we had sent a long time ago on the walls. They were praying for their friends in Nigeria.”

Meeting with the groups of students, Franzenburg took the opportunity to ask the Sacred Heart School students to continue to pray for their friends in Nigeria.

The goal of the visit, she said is “just the beginning of a great relationship” that will go on for generations. “To think that two years ago, when we didn’t know each other and we prayed over each other on Zoom, who would of thought that this is where we would be in the summer of 2024?”

In the fall of 2022, Father Paul began studies at Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome for his doctorate. The priest and Franzenburg remained in contact over the last two years.

Still in graduate studies, the Nigerian priest explained he met Msgr. Aloysius Callaghan of St. Paul Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota who was accompanying American seminarians for a semester abroad. Given there are no living accommodations during summer break at his university, the Nigerian priest told Msgr. Callaghan he wanted to spend that time in the United States. From there, arrangements were made for Father Paul to stay at St. Timothy Parish in Maple Lake, Minnesota.

“When I got to Maple Lake, I sent a message to Deb,” said Father Paul. “She said, ‘Wow, it’s not far from Iowa. We would be happy to have you here.’”

That’s when plans for a visit to Boone started to take shape but plans took a while to firm up in the end. The two explained it took a lot of arranging, rearranging, the help of many and God’s plans to make this visit possible.

“I was so excited when Deb told me I could visit but there were a lot of challenges of who would bring me,” noted Father Paul.

Initially he was going to be flown to the Boone airport in a small plane, but scheduling conflicts with the pilot and weather caused a few delays.

Franzenburg pointed out that it was on the fourth try that their plans came together. In the end, it was Ascension Parish pastor Father Tim Johnson who was able to bring the Nigerian priest to Iowa following a visit to Minnesota. As it turned out, with the altered visit schedule Father Paul was able to spend more time in the community and at the school.

Father Paul’s visit to Boone concluded by celebrating the all-school Mass for Sacred Heart School, where he noted he was impressed by their singing. Father Paul appreciated such a nice welcome from the parish and school.

“I am extremely grateful to Father Paul and everyone who played any part in this,” said Franzenburg. “It was a whole team of us who made this happen.”

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