Fr Ekeneme Inaugurates Catholic Blue Army Devotees

The devotees of the Blue Army Devotional group of SS Peter and Paul Catholic Pro-Cathedral, Lagere, Ile-Ife were inaugurated Sunday 21 September 2025 by Reverend Father Vincent Ekeneme, Parish Priest of Holy Family Catholic Church, Road 7, Ile-Ife. Recall that Rev Fr Christopher Uwadiale, C.Ss.R during a week retreat at the Parish 2 March 2025 started membership drive to renew the once existing group at the Parish. Mr John who has being with the group since recruitment is the Ibadan Provincial representative of the group across several dioceses. He noted that the Block Rosary promote the legacy of “Our Lady of Fatima” geared at The Blessed Virgin Mary. According him, the devotion came into being, as a result of apparition of Blessed Mother Mary to three little children, revealing many, going into hell, as a result of lack of people soliciting on their behalf through prayer. John thought that, if human in the world is conscious of their action, evil may not exist.

The group of praying people formed at that time is an extension of the Blue Army group enrolled Sunday 21 September. The prayer group meets every Friday between the hours of 4-5 PM. Apart from the symbolic statue of “The Blessed Virgin Mary,” the Brown Scapular worn over them by the Priest signify their identity and commitment to the devotion. It is believed, according to John that one who die wearing the scapular will never experience hell. The scapular is meant to be worn all day. One other privileged to be observed by the devotee is the privilege which accourages devotee to be chaste according to their state of life. While devotees only meet once a week, there are prayers to be said 7 times daily according to John. As to what structure is put in place to ensure that membership does not disintegrate as it did previously in the Parish, due to lack of continuity, John remarked that it is not about crowd but commitment, because reduced commitment of members at some point cuts across all groups in the Church. He however encouraged devotees to focus on outcome rather than the income.