Nigeria Federation of Catholic students, NFCS, trace her origin and visions to the movement towards peace in Rome by some catholic students. This movement is affiliated to "International Movement of Catholic Students", IMCS Pax Romana.
Pax Romana was founded officially on 19th of July, 1921, 23 students leaders from all over war torn Europe, the United States, Argentina and Java (Indonesia) met in Fribourg, Switzerland (from Pope Benedict XV) for the first Pax Romana congress. Thereafter, the movement later spread to many countries in Africa, Europe, America, Asia and Australia. The movement is recognised by the Holy See and is a member of United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOC) with “B” Status, and accredited consultative status in Department of Public Information (DPI) and UNESCO since 1949.
Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students, NFCS, which is "IMCS Nigeria", was formed in 1956 by some visionary students, under the leadership of late Prof. Ambrose Ali (who later became Governor of old Bendel State). It started from the University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos (Now Federal University of Technology, Lagos). It was approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN.
2. SCOPE OF THE NFCS:
Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students, NFCS, is affiliated to the International Movement of Catholic Students, IMCS, whose Headquarters is in Paris, France, and its PAN-African Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
In Nigeria, NFCS is in over 250 Institutions of Higher Learning across the Nation and the seat of the National Secretariat was transferred from Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State to Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria after the last election which occured in the 2015 National Convention at Tansian University.
Operation
In Nigeria, NFCS is governed at the national level by the National officers assisted by members of the National Executive Council (NEC) which comprise of Presidents and Secretaries of all the Nine (9) ecclesiastical provinces within the country. The national executives relates to the province, the province relates to the Zones (Dioceses) while the zones relates to the Chapters but since the chapter Secretaries and Presidents are part of the provincial executives sometimes the zonal level is usually ignored in some provinces.
There are nine (9) Catholic Provinces in Nigeria. They are:
A. Ecclesiastical Province of Abuja.
B. Ecclesiastical Province of Benin City.
C. Ecclesiastical Province of Calabar.
D. Ecclesiastical Province of Ibadan.
E. Ecclesiastical Province of Jos
F. Ecclesiastical Province of Kaduna.
G. Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos.
H. Ecclesiastical Province of Onitsha.
I. Ecclesiastical Province of Owerri.
Our Chapter
DELSU, Abraka Chapter is Under the Zone (Diocese) of Warri, which in turn belongs to the "Benin Ecclesiastical Province."
Apart from the Ministries and Societies under the NFCS, there are also groups known as Faculty Bodies, which operate under the NFCS. In DELSU Abraka we have:
• Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS)
• Catholic Social Science Students Association. (CASOSSA)
• Faculty of Arts Catholic Students Association (FACSA)
• Catholic Students of Science Association (CASSA)
• Faculty of Education Catholic Students Association (FECSA)
The formation of the above faculty bodies is in line with Federations desire of reaching out to all Catholics at the grass root, Catholic students in their respective faculties. The objectives are;
i. To encourage brotherliness amongst Catholics in their Faculties,
ii. Serve as a medium of interaction amongst Catholic students for both spiritual and academic development, and
iii. To provide grass root mobilization for the NFCS.
Patron Saint
In 1998, St. Albert “The Great” was unanimously chosen by the Catholic Bishops` Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) as the patron saint of the National Body of NFCS, hence his feast day (November 15th) is declared as NFCS National Day which is celebrated nationwide.
3. YOU AS AN NFCSer:
The Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students (NFCS), is an organized body made up of Catholic Youths who are Students of Tertiary Institutions. It is the umbrella body of all Catholic students in all Universities and other institutions of higher learning, including Major Seminaries in Nigeria. In other words, if you are a student of (let's say) "DELSU", and you consider yourself a member of the Catholic church, then you automatically belong to the NFCS and you are privileged as well as obligated to participate in its Social, Political, Financial and (most especially) Spiritual activities.
Moreover, as is expected of every member of the Catholic Church, you must belong to a ministry or society in the church. However, you must first register with the NFCS before joining or being accepted into any group in the Chaplaincy.
Furthermore, NFCS helps build the life of the student by organizing weekly meetings (on Wednesdays by 4;00pm), seeking ways to ameliorate the numerous challenges students face in their school life, as well as offering moral, academic, financial and social assistance(s) according to its strength on any given circumstances. The body; NFCS also hosts conventional events periodically at different tertiary institutions across the Nation. These conventions are at different Levels
i. Diocesan
ii. Provincial and
iii. National
As a Catholic Student with 4 or 5 years (or possibly more depending on your programme/discipline), this is an opportunity for you to relate and share ideas/experiences or inspirational guidance with students from other tertiary institutions like DELSU. No Catholic Student should miss this adventure.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the instance(s) where one may officially stop being a member of the NFCS is if ones years in any tertiary institution in Nigeria ends or if one engages in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. In the case of the former, one returns to being a member of the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria (CYON), while in the later, one graduates to become a member of either the Catholic Men Organization (CMO) or the Catholic Women organization (CWO).
Researched, Compiled and Written by: Paul-Lawrence Oliseneku E. I. (NFCS A/g President 2016/2017)
NFCS! Living The Faith... Who Cares? NFCS Does...!
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