Two Spiritans Join Theology Department

The Department of Theology welcomed two new Spiritans with roots in Africa to the faculty this semester.

The Rev. John Kwofie, C.S.Sp., joins Duquesne from Rome, where he served as first assistant to the superior general on the General Council of the Spiritans for eight years. But his Spiritan journey began in Ghana, where he grew up and first felt the call to the priesthood and to mission. “I became a Spiritan because I was attracted to their missionary charism of working in areas where the church has difficulty finding missionaries to serve the people,” Kwofie said.

Kwofie completed his formation for the priesthood in different countries in West Africa. After his ordination, he went on missions to the Gambia, where he spent three years in a parish before traveling to Rome, and later Jerusalem, for specialization in sacred scriptures. When his studies were complete, Kwofie was elected superior of the Spiritan Foundation of West Africa (which became the Spiritan West African Province) and held that position for nine years before his election to the General Council. While superior of the Spiritan West African Foundation/Province, he also served as a part-time lecturer of sacred scriptures at the Spiritan International School of Theology in Nigeria.

As Kwofie neared the end of his mandate in Rome, Duquesne’s theology department approached him and asked if he would like to join the Spiritans at Duquesne. In consultation with his superiors, he made the decision to travel to Pittsburgh, and now resides on campus and teaches Biblical and Historical Perspectives.

“My approach to the bible is to engage students to appreciate the different genres in the Bible, grasp the message of each book by using different methods and relate the biblical message to our lives today,” Kwofie said. “That’s the joy of what we are doing—to study the message written many years ago, decipher different stages in the life of the word and find its contemporary relevance.”

The Rev. Gregory Olikenyi, C.S.Sp., describes himself as “born a Spiritan.” The fourth child of eight, he entered the world while his father—trained as a caterer/cook by the Irish Holy Rosary Sisters in Nigeria—was serving the Irish Holy Ghost Fathers in Ihiala. Surrounded by the Spiritans in his life and education, he decided at the end of secondary school to become a Spiritan himself.

Olikenyi’s path to ordination wove through Nigeria, to Europe for his studies and back again. Following his ordination, he briefly served as an assistant parish priest in Nigeria before traveling as a missionary to Germany. While there, Olikenyi was engaged in youth ministry; served as chaplain to Justice, Peace and Development Commission in the Diocese of Cologne; and earned licentiate and doctorate in Mission Studies.

After his time in Germany, Olikenyi returned to Nigeria and joined the faculty at the Duquesne-affiliated Spiritan International School of Theology (SIST), where he chaired the mission studies program. He became rector of SIST and served as the assistant regional superior of the Onitsha region and provincial councilor in charge of formation. It was at SIST that Olikenyi made the Duquesne connections that would lead him to Pittsburgh, where he now teaches Theological Views of the Person. But his plans for his time on campus go well beyond teaching.

“I consider my engagement wherever I find myself as purely a missionary endeavor,” Olikenyi said. “If I am able to positively touch the lives of the students, the faculty and the staff of Duquesne and allow myself to be positively touched by their own lives, then it is mission accomplished.”