Anointing of the Sick and the Healing Ministry: The Nigerian Pastoral Experience

Through its practice of healing down the ages the Church has been able to inculturate the Christian message, but not without the risks of the manipulation’ of the divine power which have gone with these practices. Throughout its long history anointing of the sick has almost constantly oscillated between physical and spiritual effects. This book critically examines the manifold practices of healing which flourish today in our midst especially in Nigeria. It emphasizes the teaching of the Church on healing and the healing power of the sacraments and proposes the inculturation of the ritual of anointing the sick that will be truly Christian and authentically African.

Austin Echema is a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri (Nigeria). He studied philosophy and theology in Bigard Memorial Seminary Ikot Ekpene (now St. Joseph’s) and Enugu respectively and obtained his doctorate in theology from the Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt/Main (Germany). He teaches liturgy at the Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt (Nigeria) and is a visiting lecturer at the Seat of Wisdom Major Seminary Owerri (Nigeria).