Currently working in: Baie-Comeau diocese
Position: Priest for Ekuanitshit and Matimekush Lac John (by Schefferville)
Country of origin: Nigeria
Came to Canada in: 2014
Arrived as: A missionary with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
A unique experience: Working in Indigenous communities as an African missionary
On a crisp sunny Sunday morning in November 2020, Nnaemeka Ali got ready to celebrate mass in Ekuanitshit, an Innu community two hours north of Sept-Iles, Que. The celebration was a special one, as he was going to baptize two young children that day.
People greeted him warmly as they entered the small wooden church. “Bonjour Ali!,” said a woman, her and her family chatting with him as they went to a bench near the altar. Families with younger kids sat toward the front, laughing and talking as they settled in. The Elders stayed quietly at the back. There was a strong sense of camaraderie among the dozens of folks that had come.
Mass started late. Ali spoke in Innu, reading text that had been translated from French to the Indigenous language. When it ended, someone invited him to come share a meal at their house.
Ali said working with Innu communities as a Black African priest who knows what it’s like to have your land colonized is a unique experience.
Top photo © Émilie Warren