Father Chidi Ezennia Osondu

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Father Chidi Ezennia Osondu, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Savannah, died November 14 in New Delhi, India from complications following the rejection of a transplanted kidney. Father Osondu, 37, was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 2005 in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah. His first assignment was as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anne Church, Columbus, followed by Parochial Vicar at Saint James Church in Savannah. A native of Nigeria and a member of the Igbo tribe, Father Osondu was the first of Luke and Susanna Osondu's seven children. His full first name was Chidiebere which means "God is merciful". He earned his bachelor of philosophy degree from the Claretian Institute of Philosophy in Owerri, Nigeria an affiliate of the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. He joined the secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Fathers in 1994 where he completed his novitiate. In 2000 Fr. Osondu immigrated to the U.S., at the invitation of a Josephite priest, in order to become a missionary diocesan priest. St. Joseph Parish in Augusta served as his home parish while he was studying for the diocesan priesthood. In 2004 he earned a Master of Arts degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was ordained a deacon in 2004 and earned a Masters of Divinity, with high honors, at Saint Vincent in 2005. He received the Omer U. Kline, OSB Homiletics Award, an award given to the fourth-year student who has most clearly demonstrated excellence in preaching. Father Osondu delivered the homily at the 2008 Saint Patrick's Day Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. Besides his parents, Father Osondu is survived by three sisters, Adaora Osondu, a professor at Abafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, Sister Oluchi Osondu, a member of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy congregation, and Chika Osondu, a student at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Nigeria; and three brothers, Amaobichi Osondu and his wife, Gloria, and their son, Chidubem, of Augusta, Georgia, K. C. Osondu, a seminarian for the Diocese of Awgu in Nigeria, and Nnajiofor Osondu, a seminarian for the Sons of Mary Mother of Mercy (SMMM) Congregation. There will be a Memorial Mass for Fr. Chidi Osondu at St. James Catholic Church at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, November 23, 2010. Bishop J. Kevin Boland will officiate and Fr. John Lyons will preach. The Funeral and Burial for Reverend Chidi Osondu will be held in his native Diocese of Awgu in Nigeria on Friday, December 17, 2010. A Wake Service will be held the previous evening, Thursday, December 16, 2010, at the family's home. Condolence cards may be sent to the Osondu family in care of the Catholic Diocese of Savannah, 601 E. Liberty Street, Savannah, GA 31401-5196. Please sign our on-line guest book at www.foxandweeks.com . Sign the guestbook at AugustaChronicle.com