A Nigerian Catholic priest, Rev. Benjamin Madu, has died in Massachusetts, church officials have confirmed. He had been preparing to return to Nigeria after his religious worker visa expired.
Madu, a priest of the Diocese of Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, died on Thursday after serving for several years as a hospital chaplain and parish priest in Massachusetts.
Announcing his death, Father Jim Achadinha, pastor of the Catholic communities of Gloucester and Rockport, described it as a “devastating loss,” noting that Madu had served Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish with joy, kindness and generosity.
Authorities have not disclosed the cause of death. A spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said foul play is not suspected, adding that an autopsy was expected while officials worked to reach Madu’s relatives in Nigeria.
NBC News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the priest died by suicide.
Archbishop Richard Henning of the Archdiocese of Boston extended condolences to those mourning the priest, offering prayers for his family, brother priests and friends in Nigeria, as well as the community he served at Cape Ann and Salem Hospital.
Madu had served as chaplain at Salem Hospital since 2021 while also ministering at St. Ann’s and Our Lady of Good Voyage in Gloucester and St. Joachim’s in Rockport. Tuesday would have marked the 25th anniversary of his ordination at St. Theresa Cathedral in Abakaliki.
The priest was due to return to Nigeria this month after his R-1 religious worker visa approached its July 29 expiration date. Church officials said his home diocese instructed him to return in early July, ahead of his original schedule. Under US immigration rules, he was required to leave the country before applying to renew the visa.
His planned departure had saddened parishioners, many of whom knew him as “Father Ben” and praised his ministry to patients, families and the wider community.
In a farewell message published on the parish website last month, Madu had expressed sadness over leaving the US, writing that it was not his wish to return home but that circumstances beyond his control had brought his time in the country to an end. He said his heart was broken but his joy remained, and expressed hope of returning one day to continue his ministry.
The Diocese of Abakaliki has not yet issued a public statement on his death.
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