Celebrating Fr. Bekomson @ 45!

On the radiant first of March, 2026, as Rev. Fr. Dr. Emmanuel Bekomson marks his forty-fifth birthday, the Church rejoices and the community celebrates a priest whose life is a litany of luminous love and laborious commitment to the service of God and His people. In him, we behold a shepherd who has been steadfast and sacrificial, a pastor prayerful and pioneering, a cleric compassionate and courageous. 

Born to the noble and nurturing family of Nathaniel Takon Bekomson and Bernadette Awu Bekomson of Nsadop in Boki Local Government Area, Fr. Emmanuel’s story is one of sacred seeds sown in simplicity and watered by wisdom. Ordained to the Holy Priesthood on 29th November 2008, Bekomson has, for over seventeen years, stood steadfast at the altar of sacrifice, offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with reverence and resolve. 

At Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Parish, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, he proved himself a priest profoundly present. Amid the sterile silence of sick wards and the sombre sighs of suffering souls, he moved with missionary mercy. With stole and sacrament, with oil and holy books in his hands, he answered sick calls with urgency and unction. From ward to ward he went praying, ministering, anointing the sick, and placing into trembling hands the precious Body of Christ in Holy Communion. In corridors clouded by pain, he became a candle of consolation. As his favourite Biblical verse assures us, “Ask, and it shall be given you” (Matthew 7:7), and many who asked for strength found solace in his sacramental service. 

It may interest one to know that his charity is not cloistered. It is courageous and concrete. Through his benevolent organisation, Inspiro, he has ventured into slums, ghettos, and shanties. He keeps visiting those forgotten frontiers of fragility, to feed the hungry, clothe the cold, succour the sorrowful, and shelter widows and the homeless. He builds not only houses of brick but bastions of hope. Indeed, his heart beats in beautiful harmony with his favourite saint, St. Vincent de Paul, whose legacy of loving the least lives vibrantly in his vocation. As the African adage wisely says, “The hand that gives is the hand that gathers,” and Fr. Emmanuel’s generous hands have gathered gratitude and grace in abundance. 

A soul-thirsty cleric in a searching society, he has not confined his ministry to the sanctuary alone. Seeing the media as a veritable vessel for evangelisation, he proclaims the goodnews through radio waves and across virtually every social media platform. With clarity and conviction, he catechizes and counsels, consoles and calls many back to Christ. For him, the digital continent is a contemporary cathedral, and every broadcast a bold benediction. In an age of noise, he nurtures nuance, in a time of confusion, he communicates Christ. 

Now serving as the Administrator at St. Charles L’Wanga Parish, Essien Town, Calabar, he works assiduously under the pastoral guidance of the Auxiliary Bishop, Most Reverend, Christopher Naseri, to keep the faithful united and untiring in their commitments to the church. With the newly introduced slogan, “SCLP; A Place Called Home,” he shepherds with a genial and gregarious grace that gathers God’s people into communion and community. His laughter is light, his leadership luminous, and his love for the laity legendary. He labours tirelessly to keep the banner of Christ’s message flying high, and attracts more faithful for the expansion of the pilgrim Church on earth. 

In his leisure time, Fr. Beks plays the piano and reads the classics with reflective relish, and listens to jazz with joyful disposition. His favourite prayer, the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, is not merely recited but realised in his daily dealings. There is no argument that Fr. Emmanuel has been an instrument of peace in parishes and peripheries alike. His often quoted maxim, “Even strong men struggle,” reveals a priest both profound and personal awareness of human fragility, yet firm in faith. 

As Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Bekomson celebrates this milestone of forty-five fruitful years, we lift liturgical petitions for God’s abiding protection, providential provision, and robust health upon his life and ministry. May the Lord who called him, be his constant companion. May the Christ he consecrates daily, continue to consecrate his every endeavour. May the Holy Spirit strengthen his steps and sanctify his service. 

For as the proverb proclaims, “When the shepherd is steadfast, the sheep are secure.” Reverend Father Emmanuel Bekomson has been steadfast. May his years ahead be blessed, his burdens be light, and his joy be full. 

Ad multos annos, dear Father. 

Anthony Ekpo Bassey, PhD, teaches Journalism at the University of Calabar.