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“Evangelizing the Poor”: The Challenges Facing Missionaries Bringing Hope to Nigeria Despite Violence
Part three of Press Crux's four-part exclusive interview with Father Kuha Indyer, a Spiritan missionary in Nigeria. The priest explains how the Church accompanies the most vulnerable communities and warns of the economic and administrative difficulties religious missionaries face in sustaining their mission.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | NIGERIA | 3 OF 4
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
11/3/20269 min read
A Tiv-language literacy activity organized by Spiritan missionaries in Gboko, Nigeria. Photo courtesy of Father Kuha Indyer.
GBOKO, Nigeria — In a region where violence has forced schools, hospitals and parishes to close, Catholic missionaries face a question that goes far beyond security: How can they continue proclaiming the Gospel when communities need food, education, medical care and opportunities to survive?
For Father Kuha Indyer, a priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, commonly known as the Spiritans, the answer lies in a conviction that has shaped his congregation's identity: “The evangelization of the poor.”
In this third installment of a four-part exclusive interview with Press Crux, Father Indyer, who serves in the Diocese of Gboko in Nigeria's Benue State, discusses the initiatives his religious community has developed to accompany vulnerable families, as well as the challenges facing missionaries who seek to sustain their work amid insecurity and economic hardship.
After examining the attacks against Catholic institutions in Ihugh and their consequences for local families in the first two installments, this third part focuses on the missionaries' response: remaining alongside communities, promoting human development and keeping hope alive.
Nigeria: A Crisis of Violence, Poverty and Displacement
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis marked by armed violence, kidnappings, conflicts between communities and widespread poverty. Jihadist organizations such as Boko Haram operate in the northeast, while central and northwestern regions have experienced clashes involving disputes over land, access to water and the activities of criminal gangs.
Violence has also affected Christian communities, priests and religious institutions. However, the causes of these attacks vary, and not every incident is religiously motivated.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Nigeria has approximately 3.6 million internally displaced people. In Benue State, where Father Indyer works, insecurity has forced numerous families from their homes and disrupted access to schools, hospitals and livelihoods. Against this background, the Catholic Church is seeking to maintain its pastoral, educational and humanitarian ministries, although some institutions have had to suspend operations for security reasons.
His testimony follows the Diocese of Gboko's October 12 decision to close several Catholic institutions in Ihugh after a series of fires, thefts and acts of harassment.
The decision, also documented by the Vatican's Fides news agency, exposed the vulnerability of communities in which the Church serves not only as a place of worship but also as an essential source of education, health care and support for everyday life.
“Sometimes We Missionaries Have No Voice”
Father Indyer believes the international community can play a fundamental role in sustaining missionary initiatives, especially in regions where violence, poverty and limited resources complicate the work of religious communities. However, he acknowledges that the obstacles are not exclusively social or economic. Some arise within ecclesiastical structures themselves.
“It is sad that, at times, we religious missionaries have no voice in some of the dioceses where we work,” he told Press Crux, describing the challenges certain congregations encounter in developing and financing their apostolic projects.
According to the priest, administrative procedures within some dioceses can limit the ability of religious missionaries to obtain funding for their ministries. “It is extremely difficult for us to raise funds locally to support our apostolates because of ecclesiastical bureaucratic obstacles,” he said.
His remarks reveal a concern that extends beyond material needs: the importance of ensuring that religious communities have opportunities to participate, receive recognition and secure the support necessary to carry out work that frequently reaches populations with very limited access to education, medical care and social services.
Father Indyer does not question the need to work in communion with the local Church. Rather, he draws attention to the practical difficulties some missionaries face in sustaining their initiatives. His appeal to Catholics in other countries and to institutions supporting evangelization is that they not forget those who remain on the ground, accompanying vulnerable families and trying to keep open the institutions that contribute to their communities' well-being.
A Center for Encountering God and Rediscovering Hope
Despite these difficulties, the Spiritan missionaries have established the Spiritan Development Centre in Gboko, an initiative belonging to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit's Northeast Nigeria Province. Father Indyer, the project's founder and first director, explained that its purpose is to respond to the needs of vulnerable communities through an approach that brings together spiritual life, education and human development.
The center draws inspiration from the congregation's charism, expressed through its commitment to the evangelization of the poor. Its mission is to ensure that proclaiming the Gospel is accompanied by initiatives capable of improving people's living conditions.
According to the priest, the project has two principal objectives: providing a suitable place for encountering God through retreats, conferences and other religious activities, and promoting the integral formation of young people. For the Spiritans, these dimensions cannot be separated. They believe evangelization must also help individuals recognize their dignity, develop their abilities and discover opportunities to transform their surroundings.
In a region affected by insecurity and economic hardship, access to education, stronger community relationships and spiritual accompaniment offer concrete ways of keeping hope alive.
Father Indyer explained that one of his greatest aspirations is to develop facilities where the faithful can spend several days participating in spiritual retreats and formation programs. At present, however, inadequate infrastructure and insufficient financial resources limit those possibilities.
Even so, the Spiritan Development Centre has already launched educational initiatives, literacy programs and community-support activities while seeking to expand its facilities and strengthen its presence among families in Gboko. For the priest, the challenge is to build an institution capable of addressing both the spiritual needs and the everyday hardships of people who face considerable obstacles to improving their lives.
When Losing Electricity Also Means Losing Water
The needs of the Spiritan Development Centre illustrate the material difficulties that accompany missionary work in this part of Nigeria, where even access to basic services can become a challenge. Father Indyer explained that the facilities lack an adequate electricity supply and depend on an aging generator that frequently breaks down.
When the generator stops working, the consequences extend far beyond the loss of lighting. The missionaries are also unable to pump water into the storage tank that supplies both the center and the neighboring community. What might appear to be a technical inconvenience therefore has a direct impact on the living conditions of families who depend on that water supply.
In addition to the electricity shortage, the missionaries need classrooms where children can learn, interact and participate in educational activities in a safe environment. The religious community has also begun constructing a residence for missionaries who will join the project, but the building remains without a roof because of insufficient funding. As a result, some Spiritans have been unable to move to the center and begin their work.
Transportation poses another daily challenge, particularly in a region where long distances, poor road conditions and limited financial resources complicate pastoral and social activities.
Although these shortages may seem minor compared with the scale of violence affecting Nigeria, they have tangible consequences for people who depend on missionary institutions. A functioning generator means a reliable water supply. Building classrooms creates safe spaces for learning. Completing a community residence would allow additional missionaries to begin serving local families.
For Father Indyer, obtaining these resources would mean more than simply improving facilities. It would create opportunities to expand a mission dedicated to those who have the fewest resources and opportunities.
“May Our Children Be Able to Live in Peace”
For Father Indyer, evangelization also requires attention to the social circumstances that prevent many families from living with dignity. The priest believes poverty is among the factors that contribute to insecurity, kidnappings and different forms of crime, particularly when people lack opportunities for education and employment.
He therefore urges authorities not only to guarantee public safety but also to develop policies that improve economic conditions, combat corruption and provide alternatives for younger generations. His reflection is not intended to justify violence, but to emphasize that building lasting peace also requires addressing the social conditions that deepen communities' vulnerability.
His concern focuses especially on children, whose education and development he considers essential to the country's future.
“I wish the authorities would create the conditions for our children to live in peace and pursue their academic dreams, thereby helping to build a better world,” he told Press Crux.
The priest's words reflect the experience of countless families who want to offer their children lives different from their own, but who encounter obstacles related to insecurity, poverty and the lack of basic services. For the missionary, protecting children also means ensuring they can attend school, grow up without fear and discover that their future need not be determined by the circumstances into which they were born.
This concern lies behind the educational and formation programs promoted by the Spiritans in Gboko, particularly those intended for children and young people. The congregation believes that providing knowledge, strengthening human and Christian values, and developing leadership skills can contribute to the gradual transformation of communities.
These initiatives, particularly those connected with the Peter Gierlich Youth Leadership Academy, will be examined in the fourth and final installment of this exclusive interview.
A Church That Needs Support
Addressing Catholics in other countries and those interested in supporting the mission, Father Indyer made a specific appeal: help those who continue bearing witness to the Gospel under difficult circumstances.
The priest explained that his community would welcome the cooperation of individuals and institutions willing to contribute to the growth of its educational, pastoral and human-development projects. He assured potential supporters that any assistance received would be managed responsibly and accompanied by appropriate financial accountability.
His request seeks to draw attention to religious missionaries who, far from major urban centers and operating with limited resources, remain alongside communities whose needs do not disappear when violence is no longer making international headlines.
In Gboko, the mission continues amid concrete difficulties: an inadequate electricity supply, unfinished buildings, transportation problems and families in need of opportunities to improve their living conditions. Yet for Father Kuha Indyer, these circumstances do not diminish the meaning of his vocation. Instead, they are among the sacrifices involved in proclaiming the Gospel in particularly challenging environments.
His hope, he explained, rests on faith in Jesus Christ, who gave his life for the salvation of humanity, and on the example of holy men and women who persevered in their missions despite adversity throughout history.
The missionary recalled a saying that sums up his understanding of this experience: “What is to give light must endure burning.”
In a country where so many communities are intimately familiar with suffering, those words take on particular meaning. They express the decision to continue accompanying, educating and proclaiming the Gospel, even when those providing assistance also need help themselves.
For the Spiritans in Gboko, evangelizing the poor means more than preaching. It means sharing their difficulties, recognizing their needs and working to create opportunities for a different future. Despite its limitations, the mission continues to defend human dignity and the conviction that violence and poverty must not have the final word.
Editor's note: This is the third of four installments of Ana Paula Morales' exclusive interview for Press Crux with Father Kuha Indyer, a missionary of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in the Diocese of Gboko, Nigeria. The series examines violence against Catholic institutions, its human consequences, the challenges of evangelization and the Church's initiatives to build a future of peace.
The priest's statements were provided in written responses originally submitted in English and subsequently translated into Spanish for publication. The quotations appearing here are rendered from the published Spanish version.
Coming next (4/4): The Peter Gierlich Youth Leadership Academy and the Spiritans' commitment to forming a new generation of leaders through education, digital literacy, trauma support and Christian values.
Two girls play in Nigeria, where Spiritan missionaries promote children'
Father Kuha Indyer with members of the community he accompanies through his missionary work in Nigeria. Photo courtesy of Father Kuha Indyer.
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