From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Sep 11 2008 - 15:51:02 EDT
Posted on Thu, Sep. 11, 2008
Father Teclezghi Ucbaghiorghis, 59
By Sally A. Downey
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Rev. Teclezghi M. Ucbaghiorghis, 59, of Mount Laurel, a Cistercian
monk who ministered for 11 years to parishioners of St. John Neumann
Church in Mount Laurel and to emigres from his African homeland in
several states, died Aug. 31 from injuries sustained in a car accident.
Father Ucbaghiorghis was in the two-car collision in Pocomoke City, Md.,
while returning home from one of his monthly trips to the
Baltimore-Washington area to administer sacraments to Roman Catholics
from Eritrea and Ethiopia. The day before, he had presided over a
wedding in Northern Virginia.
At a Memorial Mass at St. John Neumann on Monday for members of the
Eritrean and Ethiopian communities, it was "standing room only," said
David Petaccio, a friend of Father Ucbaghiorghis.
For several years, the biblical scholar organized an annual conference
in Washington for members of the Abyssinian diaspora. His ministry had
recently expanded through the use of teleconferencing and Internet
technology.
Father Ucbaghiorghis grew up in the farming region of Eritrea, then part
of Ethiopia. He was ordained in 1978 in Asmara, Eritrea, and, for three
years, directed a technical school and conducted Bible study classes in
Ethiopia.
After studying for two years at the Pontifical Gregorian University in
Rome, Father Ucbaghiorghis became a professor at the Cistercian seminary
in Asmara and collaborated with orthodox and evangelical Protestant
scholars on a translation of sacred scriptures into Tigrigna, the
principal language of Eritrea.
The author of five books in his native language, Father Ucbaghiorghis
also edited and contributed to two Eritrean magazines.
In 1997, he was assigned to Our Lady of Fatima Monastery in Mount Laurel
as vocation director. He and other monks also ministered to the members
of St. John Neumann, which is adjacent to the monastery. Father
Ucbaghiorghis conducted weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings and
celebrated Mass at the church.
He is survived by a brother and two sisters.
Friends may call from 8 p.m. to midnight tomorrow and from 9 to 10 a.m.
Saturday at St. John Neumann Church, 560 Walton Ave., Mount Laurel. A
Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Eritrea.
Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or
sdowney@phillynews.com.
http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20080911_Father_Teclezghi_Ucbagh
iorghis__59.html
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