From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sun Sep 14 2008 - 08:25:12 EDT
Priest remembered for service to parish, immigrants
By JIM WALSH . Courier-Post Staff . September 14, 2008
MOUNT LAUREL - After the death of a beloved priest, hundreds of people
traveled here from across the country and from abroad for a Mass in his
memory.
But that turnout was just the first service for the Rev. Teclezghi
Ucbaghiorghis.
On Saturday, more than 1,000 mourners crowded into St. John Neumann
Church at a second Mass for the African priest, who built close ties
with two very different communities from his home at Our Lady of Fatima
Monastery.
Ucbaghiorghis was a powerful presence at St. John Neumann, which is
served by priests from the Cistercian monastery. But he also traveled
regularly to minister in the traditional Geez rite to fellow immigrants
from Eritrea and Ethiopia, East African nations with a shared history.
The priest known to his South Jersey parishioners as Father Teclezghi
(Teck-lez-gi) died in a traffic accident Aug. 31. He was 59.
"He touched so many of us," said Diane DiCiurci of Mount Laurel, among
hundreds of people who attended a four-hour wake in the church sanctuary
Friday night. When the viewing ended at midnight, about 50 people
remained in the church, some of them weeping as a Knights of Columbus
honor guard stood by the coffin.
"In this parish, we knew a lot of people would want to say goodbye,"
said Deacon Jim Cattanea of Medford Lakes. "He had a very strong
character. He was a man who left a wake." The balding, bespectacled
cleric was a relatively recent arrival to America, arriving in South
Jersey 11 years ago.
Except for two years spent studying biblical theology in Rome in the
1980s, he lived most of his life in eastern Africa, according to a
biography provided by his monastery.
Among other accomplishments, the priest directed a technical school in
Ethiopia, where he was ordained in 1978. Later, while living in Eritrea,
he helped translate the Bible into his native language of Tigrignya.
He also wrote five books in Tigrignya and was an editor and contributor
at two Ethiopian magazines, according to the monastery's account.
Parishioners said he became a central figure as a preacher, confessor
and minister in his time at St. John Neumann.
"He was a very passionate person. His homilies were just unbelievable,"
DiCiurci said.
"Father Teclezghi was the one who inspired me to give back to the
church," said Maryann Cerwoka of Mount Laurel. "He was always pushing me
to be more involved in the church."
The Eritrean turned to technology, like teleconferencing and the
Internet, to help bring his ministry to fellow Africans in other parts
of the country. But he also traveled monthly to serve Eritreans and
Ethiopians in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area.
The priest was on one of those trips when he died in a two-car collision
in Pocomoke City, Md. The driver of the second car also died.
"He would say, "Always be ready for the Lord because you never know,' "
recalled Cerwoka, blinking back tears. "He also said to always smile,
and he always did."
Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809140356
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