Fr. Onwuham Akpa, O. Praem is associate pastor of Canton Sacred Heart and Holy Child Jesus parishes and sacramental minister of Gluckstadt St. Joseph.

+ Last book read — “Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in An Age of Plenty” (2009) by Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman 
+ Favorite book — “Home and Exile” by Chinua Achebe
+ Favorite male saint — John of the Cross
+ Favorite female saint — Teresa of Avila
+ Favorite city to visit — Abuja, Nigeria
+ My hobby or hobbies — Watching soccer, reading
+ Person I’d like to invite to dinner — Get me the Buddha wherever he is!
+ On my 75th birthday I’ll eat — A smiling plate of rice and a glass of Guinness Stout!
+ Most enjoyable holiday — Christmas
+ Most cherished religious article — Icon of St Moses the Black, by Father Robert Campbell, OPraem, Norbertine Priory of Santa Maria de la Vid, Albuquerque, New Mexico
+ Favorite place to pray — In my room, church, confessional
+ When do I pray — Morning, evening, when driving alone
+ Favorite artist or work of art — None
+ Favorite childhood memory — Had a wonderful vacation with my eldest brother, and when he got me back home for the beginning of the school year, I made every effort to go back with him. Messed up my brother’s travel schedule, but I received love instead.
+ Favorite class in high school — Mathematics
+ Who influenced my vocation — My friends in high school
+ Favorite season — Spring in U.S., and Harmattan in Nigeria
+ Favorite type of music — Afrobeat
+ Best part of job as priest — The opportunity to smile with people at church
+ Best blessing — Friends
+ Greatest challenge — To live far away from my family especially when someone dies and I am not there.
+ Do you have a wish — I wish everyone could appreciate the gifts that we all bring — natives, “foreigners,” immigrants — and to have sincere encounter with other people. It is a blessing to leave where we call our own, our view points, our language, our food for a while to encounter another. Freshness is not always in my room!
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