Francis Cardinal Arinze: 90th Birthday Festschrift: from Eziowelle to the Vatican and the Continents of the World. Life, Works, Teachings, Goodwill Messages, Tributes, and Immortal Legacies, Volume 1

The name "Cardinal Arinze" rings a bell in almost every circle of the globe. That is why this 3-volume in-depth Festschrift on Cardinal Arinze is "pregnant" in content. It is a thorough and in-depth research on Cardinal Arinze which portrays his virtues and enduring legacies from various written testimonies worldwide. Cardinal Francis Arinze was the world''s youngest Catholic bishop (32) during the closing session of Vatican II and is known worldwide as an erudite pastor of souls,...
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The name "Cardinal Arinze" rings a bell in almost every circle of the globe. That is why this 3-volume in-depth Festschrift on Cardinal Arinze is "pregnant" in content. It is a thorough and in-depth research on Cardinal Arinze which portrays his virtues and enduring legacies from various written testimonies worldwide. Cardinal Francis Arinze was the world''s youngest Catholic bishop (32) during the closing session of Vatican II and is known worldwide as an erudite pastor of souls, preeminent liturgist and theologian, lucid teacher and preacher, and cogent propagator of the Catholic faith.
This research book is befitting to Cardinal Arinze who has been steadfast in teaching and propagating the Catholic faith. No wonder, Cardinal Arinze once said: "And the Church in which we believe, as I''ve already said, is a living Body, it''s not a Vatican Museum, it is not an ecclesiastical refrigerator."

Cardinal Arinze has had a lasting impact worldwide. For example, Mr Joseph Menkhaus. Executive vice president and director of the Apostolate for Family Consecration observes in his tribute that some many years ago in Ohio, Cardinal Arinze told his son, who was serving at mass that he had a vocation to the priesthood. Interestingly, this son was ordained a priest this past May 2022, as a diocesan priest for the diocese of Cleveland, Ohio. This research book contains a myriad of other tributes that narrate the powerful impact of Cardinal Arinze''s conferences and trips worldwide.
From this research, Nchumbonga George Lekelefac has taken the time to transcribe all "the question-and-answer sessions/conferences" and interviews of Cardinal Arinze word for word in various parts of the world found on "u tube." In the tributes, we discover that Cardinal Arinze is outstandingly loved and admired in the US, Italy and beyond by many especially the members of the Apostolate for Family Consecration, where he spent one week a year for 20 years at Catholic Familyland producing Catholic media, teaching doctrine in the form of question-and-answer sessions. The author has a passion for documenting the teachings of Cardinal Arinze, so that they can remain available for posterity.

Nchumbonga George Lekelefac introduces us to a multifaceted and tremendously likeable man. Mostly, he gives us well-written research of a fascinating and deeply spiritual man who was first touted as papabile - "popeable" - by Vatican analyst, Peter Hebblethwaite, in 1992. Since then, Cardinal Arinze has been approached for countless interviews. Nchumbonga George knows his research territory, which is clearly seen in this carefully in-depth research book. He combines his free-lance journalistic talent and passion with solid scholarship.

In addition, it is worth noting that the author''s Open Letter of Tuesday, September 20, 2022 resulted in the collection of more than 500 Goodwill Messages, Tributes across the globe. We can say that the author has used all his connections to excavate what people think and say about Cardinal Arinze in a short period of time thanks to his good use of social media. These good will messages bring out Cardinal Arinze''s goodness, his contributions to propagating the Catholic faith, and the positive and lasting impact of an erudite teacher of the Catholic faith, his great talent of a lucid, clear, humourous teacher and propagator of the faith who has the wisdom and ability to transmit and teach the faith by using very simple illustrations.
There is nobody who could have provided such an intimate and in-depth, witty, perceptive, well-informed and researched on Cardinal Arinze than an objective Cameroonian lay person, researcher, freelance journalist, polyglot, canon lawyer, globetrotter - Nchumbonga George Lekelefac. Therefore, this research work on Cardinal Arinze is likely to remain the standard work on Cardinal Arinze for decades. If you are fond of Cardinal Arinze and his works and teachings, do not miss this book.