TO ALL PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS WORKING IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LAGOS, AND THE LAY FAITHFUL
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
- THE MONTH OF DECEMBER: We thank the Lord for preserving our lives to the last month of the year 2025. The month of December is a month of many sentiments: hope, expectation, joy and celebration. During the month we have celebrations such as the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (December 8), the Birth of our Lord at Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth (December 28). The month is one of retrospection, stock-taking, self-evaluation and thanksgiving to God.
- The liturgical colour for the Season of Advent i.e., purple, paints a spiritual portrait of hope and expectation, of longing and waiting, of conversion and penance in preparation for Christmas. Advent is the beginning of a new Liturgical Year and can be seen as another opportunity to renew ourselves spiritually. Let us therefore avail ourselves of the opportunity that Advent provides to renew our relationship with God: do penance, works of charity and carry out the corporal and spiritual Monthly Bulletin /Circular December 2025 /No. 148 2 works of mercy so that we can reap the fruits of the Lord’s coming both at Christmas and at the end of time. The Christmas Season on its own part expresses the boundless love of God; a love that heralds hope, inaugurates peace, engenders faith, and establishes the triumph of justice. While we busy ourselves with material preparations for Christmas, let us not lose sight of its spiritual significance – the opportunity to encounter Jesus and embrace his offer of friendship and salvation.
I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year in advance
- .JUBILEE OF HOPE CLOSING CEREMONIES: This year, our ADVENT PILGRIMAGE will also be the official closing of the Jubilee of Hope celebration at the Regional, Deanery and Parish levels. There will be an opportunity to obtain the Plenary Indulgence applicable to a Jubilee Pilgrimage exercise. This will be possible at all the Advent Pilgrimage sites. All faithful are urged to take full advantage of this final opportunity of Indulgence during the Jubilee Year. At the Archdiocesan level, the Archbishop will perform the official closing ceremony on December 28, 2025, at Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos while the official closing for the Universal Church will hold in Rome on January 6, 2026. As we come to the end of the Jubilee Celebration, may our hope in Christ be fully assured and actualized, Amen
- INTRODUCING AND RECOMMENDING: ENHANCING COMMUNICATION IN THE PARISH COMMUNITY, a book authored by Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, a priest of the Archdiocese of Lagos who currently serves as the National Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja. This book is a resource material for priests and all pastoral agents, offering practical guidance for approaching and strengthening communication within parish communities and other ecclesial institutions. In the book, Fr. Umoh provides practical and accessible tools to enriching the ways we teach, connect, collaborate, organise and build unity in the Church, engaging the various media opportunities to reach a wider audience and foster a sense of community. We recommend the book for the use of all pastoral agents; priests, religious and the laity. All who desire to get copies should contact Fr. Umoh on 08023062860 or Sir Peter Osamgbi, KSJI on 07047478000.
- Unusual Praise 2025: Unusual Praise 2025 will hold on Friday, December 12, 2025 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos, starting at 6pm. The Theme of this year’s event is “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” (Psalm 103: 1). As the largest Catholic Praise event in Africa, Unusual Praise 2025 will feature praise and worship ministers who will lead us in spirit-filled worship. The event shall be a hybrid; with people attending physically and others joining through the Social Media Platforms, DSTV and other partner TV Stations.
- Archdiocesan Novena For the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception: The above-mentioned Novena comes up between the 29th of November and the 8th of December 2025 at the Archdiocesan Marina Shrine, Maryland. Novena: Saturday, November 29th-Sunday, December 7th 2025 Solemnity: Monday, December 8th 2025 Theme: “The Magnificat: The Canticle of Hope for the Poor” (Luke 1:46-55) Time: 4:30PM Daily
- Archdiocesan Christmas Carols: The Lagos Archdiocesan Music Commission (LAMCOM) in collaboration with Holy Cross Cathedral presents the Lagos Archdiocesan Christmas Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols with the theme: “CHRIST OUR HOPE-THE LIGHT OF THE NATIONS” (Is. 60:1-3). Chief Host: Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, Archbishop of Lagos. Date: Sunday, 14th December, 2025 Venue: Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos. Time: 3:00pm. All are cordially invited. Let’s celebrate the birth of Christ in a musical grand style
- Family and Human Life Unit: The Family and Human Life Unit, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, is calling on all families in the Archdiocese to a family discussion in their various homes on the Feast of Holy Family which comes up on the 28th of December, 2025. Copies of the booklet to help with the discussion is available for pick up @ the Church and Society Building, 19, Maye Street off Montgomery Way, Yaba. Jesus, Mary and Joseph… make our Families like unto thine.