The couple
Dora Chichah, wife of a suspended Catholic priest from the Diocese of Warri, Delta State, Rev Fr. Daniel Okanatotor Oghenerukevwe, has recounted how she met her husband.
PUNCH Online reports the Catholic Diocese of Warri suspended Oghenerukevwe for allegedly contracting a secret marriage in the United States without completing the formal process of being released from his priestly vows.
The Diocese clarified that Oghenerukevwe had requested on November 30, 2024, to be released from all canonical obligations associated with Holy Orders.
However, the Diocese said it reached out to him, “asking for the required documents to begin the process, but the priest went on to marry without completing the procedure.”
Photos of the wedding, which took place in Dallas, Texas, have since gone viral.
Speaking during a live testimony session at Pastor Jerry Eze’s Streams of Joy International Church in Dallas, Dora shared her journey.
In a video reposted on Monday by a Catholic missionary priest, Fr. Kelvin Ugwu, Dora introduced herself as a single mother of three who had prayed for a husband for over nine years
“I kept praying. Anytime Pastor Jerry says women in their 30s, women in their 40s, receive your husband. I would dance and I would pray and I was believing God.”
“In 2024, I heard God clearly to relocate from where I was to Dallas, Texas.”
Dora said she reconnected with Daniel, someone she knew growing up in the same area, and they quickly exchanged contact details.
“He told me stories about how he has been praying for four years for discernment in his vocation. And in my own case, I had been praying too. He said he had been fasting for three months, asking God to give him the woman for him,” Dora revealed.
“In three months, we had gone through the marriage class. Within three months, we did the traditional wedding; we did the court. And the white wedding in Streams of Joy, Dallas,” she said.
While Dora did not address Daniel’s status as a Catholic priest during her testimony, the video package featured pictures of her and Daniel during their wedding.
PUNCH Online reports that a woman claiming to be Daniel’s biological sister, Mary Okanatotor, defended the marriage, stating it was the best decision for her brother.
“He did not do a secret marriage as he wrote to the Diocese to inform them of his decision,” she said in a social media post. Punch
