Société des Missions Africaines –Province d'Irlande

né le 29 août 1909 à Feenagh, Ballyforan dans le diocèse d'Elphin, Irlande membre de la SMA le 2 juillet 1931 prêtre le 21 décembre 1934 décédé le 19 avril 1990

1935-1944 missionnaire au Nigeria, préfecture de Kaduna 1945-1947 Blackrock Road, Cork, 1947-1949 Kilcogan 1949-1951 Blackrock Road, Cork, 1951-1954 RAF, aumônier militaire 1955-1959 au service du diocèse de Nottingham 1959-1990 missionnaire au Nigeria archidiocèse de Kaduna décédé à Kano, Nigeria, le 20 avril 1990, à l'âge de 80 ans

Martin MacDonnell was born at Feenagh, Ballyforan, Ballinasloe, Co Roscommon, in the diocese of Elphin, on 29 August 1909. He died in Kano, Nigeria, on 20 April 1990.

Martin studied at the Sacred Heart college, Ballinafad, Co Mayo (1923 24) and, after two years of illness spent at home, at St. Joseph's college, Wilton, Cork (1926 1929). He came to the Society's novitiate and house of philosophy, at Kilcolgan, Co Galway, in the autumn of 1929 and studied theology in the Society's seminary, at Dromantine, Co Down, between 193l 1935. Martin was admitted to membership of the Society on 2 July 193l and was ordained a priest by Bishop Edward Mulhern of Dromore diocese, at St. Colman's cathedral, Newry, on 21 December 1934. He was one of a group of twelve ordained on that day.

After ordination Martin returned to Dromantine for six months to complete his theology course. He was then appointed to the prefecture of Kaduna, in northern Nigeria. This prefecture was erected in April 1934 under the leadership of Thomas P. Hughes. Originally it had formed part of the prefecture of Northern Nigeria, erected in 1929. When Martin reached his mission, in October 1935, he joined a missionary staff of 13 Fathers, mostly recently ordained Irish members. His first appointment was to Zaria district. The central station of Zaria had been founded in 1918 under the patronage of Christ the King. In the year Martin came to Zaria there was a Catholic community of 830 members and 400 catechumens many of them Igbo immigrants from the east who had come northwards with the railway. After a year, during which Martin was introduced to the missionary life and learned the Hausa language, he was posted to Argungu, a rural mission in Sokoto state, some 500 miles from Kaduna, where evangelisation of the indigenous Animist population was the priority. After a further year Pat was appointed superior of Masuga district, a new mission situated near Kontagora in Niger Province. Like Argungu, Masuga was a mission where the main thrust of evangelisation was directed towards the widely scattered Animist population. William Byrne was Martin's assistant priest from February 1938, until he was replaced by John Connolly early in 1939.

Martin went on his first home leave in February 1940. He found it difficult to get a sea passage back to his mission because of the world war, but eventually sailed in February 1942. Martin's second tour of duty (during which he served in Masuga, Argungu, Kaduna and Zaria) was cut short by illness. He was hospitalised in Kaduna on three occasions during 1943 and in January 1944 the doctor ordered him home. He travelled in March going to his family at Ballyforan to convalesce. In January 1945, having recovered his strength, Martin sought permission to become an army chaplain with the British forces. During his last two years in Nigeria he had been officiating chaplain to the army at Kaduna and enjoyed this ministry. However his superiors were unable to accede to this request because of acute staff shortages in the Province's missions. Moreover the Province had already made available several of its members as chaplains since the outbreak of the world war. Martin then came to Blackrock Road where he worked on the promotion team for two years. In August 1947 Martin went to Kilcolgan as confessor to the students. He returned to Blackrock Road in October 1949, serving there until August 1951. In that year, with a better staffing situation in the Province, Martin was given permission to join the R.A.F. as a chaplain. In October he took up an appointment in the R.A.F. base at Credenhill, Hereford, and later served at Cranwell, Lincolnshire. In September 1954 Martin's commission with the R.A.F. expired and after a period at home he took up pastoral work (from August 1955) in the diocese of Nottingham, serving in Holy Souls parish, Ashby, Scunthorpe.

In November 1959 Martin returned to the Kaduna jurisdiction which had been erected as an archdiocese in July of the same year. Apart from a short sojourn in Leeds diocese (April May 1981), he was to minister there until the time of his death in 1990. In November 1972, on the retirement of Archbishop John McCarthy, Martin had the joy of seeing a Nigerian, Peter Yariyok Jatau, take charge of the jurisdiction. Three years later Bishop Jatau was nominated archbishop. During the thirty one years of his 'second coming' in Kaduna, Martin worked mainly in the rural areas of the archdiocese: Kurmin Mazuga, Sabon Sarki and Kubacha. His later years were spent at Kano and Kaduna. Martin's dedication to Africa was total. In May 1983 he fell from the roof of a Fathers residence in construction near St. Joseph's cathedral, Kaduna. His injuries were severe (he broke bones in both wrists and fractured his pelvis) and he was compelled to return to Ireland. However, although he was now seventy four years old, he set about persuading his superiors, with great determination, to allow him return to Nigeria. And return he did, in November 1983, in time to celebrate his golden jubilee of ordination with his confrères (the only member of his ordination class of twelve of which six were living to be still ministering in Africa). He was to spend a further seven years in Nigeria mostly in Kano despite frail health. Much loved by those he served and universally regarded as a 'holy man' (by Christians and Muslims alike), over l0,000 people attended his funeral.

Martin's great spirit is perhaps best revealed in a letter he wrote to his Provincial in September 1987 while home on holidays when his frail state of health seemed to rule out a return to Kano. 'I wish to go back to Our Lady of Fatima parish. In our church we have almost 12,000 people coming to Mass every Sunday we have six Masses on the Sunday, five in the morning and one in the evening. We are three giving out Holy Communion at every Mass, Fr. John O'Brien, and me, and one seminarian. There are crowds for confession all during the week. There are 6 large public hospitals and several private ones there are 14 large schools, there are 2 prisons. Also there are 2 State Childrens' Homes, 1 disabled peoples home and 1 large institute for the deaf and blind. This (latter) institute has primary and secondary education in four separate schools. Therefore I beg you to help me to return and give a hand with the work'. Martin did receive the help sought and did return. Fittingly his Requiem Mass was held in Our Lady of Fatima church.

He is buried in the grounds of Our Lady of Fatima church, Kano, Nigeria.