ABOUT

Father Innocent Chibueze Ezeonyeasi, PhD. was ordained on 24 August 2002 for the Catholic Diocese of Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria. Before he came to the United Kingdom, he worked as Assistant Parish Priest, Parish Priest, Principal, Chaplain to Orlu Diocesan Mass Servers’ Association, Diocesan Liturgical Master of Ceremonies, and the founding Chaplain to St. Camillus Catholic Chaplaincy - Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, Nigeria.

He was appointed Assistant Chaplain to the Nigerian Catholic Chaplaincy, England & Wales by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in collaboration with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales (CBCEW) in April 2009. He became the Principal Chaplain to the Nigerian Catholic Chaplaincy, England & Wales in January 2016 and ended his appointment to the Chaplaincy in December that year. Father Innocent was appointed Assistant Priest at St Bartholomew’s Catholic Church, Norbury on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 February 2017. He was appointed Parochial Administrator of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Pollards Hill on 21 June 2019.

Father Innocent also organises programmes and workshops to assist young people and adults develop skills for Christian friendship and commitment in marriage. He loves Our Lady - the Blessed Virgin Mary and is a promoter of Marian spirituality according to St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Mother Theresa and St. John Paul II. On his 20th Priestly Ordination Anniversary, 24th August 2022, he founded the Global Lay Apostolate for Priestly-Vocations, a Catholic Prayer Network, to pray for priests and for an increase in vocations to Catholic ministerial priesthood. Father Innocent upholds that the devotion to Mary, Our Lady of the Cenacle (Upper Room), supported with other activities will re-ignite the fire of response to vocations to Catholic ministerial priesthood across all countries of the world, and happy married life as evident in her role at the wedding at Cana in Galilee ( see Acts 2 and John 2).

Father Innocent was posted to St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Bexleyheath, Kent, September 2024.