Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke

Valerian Okeke was born on October 20, 1953, in Umudioka, in the Archdiocese of Onitsha. He pursued his studies both in his home country and in Rome, earning a degree in Moral Theology from the Alfonsianum. He was ordained a priest on July 11, 1981. He held the following positions: parochial vicar in Onitsha (1981–83); parish priest in Umoji (1983–86); and professor and faculty member at the Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu (1991–96). Since 1996, he has served as rector of that seminary, which is the largest in the world, with over a thousand seminarians.