Emmanuel Akalue

Fr. Emmanuel Akalue has a way of staying with people. Those who have spent time around him describe a priest who is dedicated, warm, and genuinely influential, someone who feels less like a figure behind the altar and more like family. One former altar server from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Onicha-Olona, Nigeria, who grew up learning the faith under Fr. Emmanuel's care, put it simply: "You sowed the seed of Catholicism into my life, and today it has blossomed." That young server is now a parish laity president. Fr. Emmanuel hails from Nigeria, the second of ten siblings, and was ordained on August 20, 1994. He went on to earn a Master's Degree in Theology with a specialization in Catechetics from the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and has served in several parishes across the Diocese of Orlando since 2004. Most recently, he served at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park before being appointed pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Casselberry, a place that also happens to be the homebase of something very close to his heart. Ask anyone who has been to the African Community Mass in the Diocese of Orlando and they will tell you it feels like going home. That is Fr. Emmanuel's doing. When then-Bishop Thomas Wenski asked him in 2008 to organize a monthly celebration for the growing African and Caribbean community in Central Florida, what started as a small gathering grew into something that drew more than two hundred people, filled with lively music, the tapping of drums, and colorful clothing that brought a piece of home to a new country. COVID shut it down, but Fr. Emmanuel brought it back, moving it from parish to parish until it found its footing again. Now, with his move to St. Augustine, the Mass is returning to Casselberry where it all began. You can also hear him weekly on Divine Mercy Radio 920AM, where he tackles the New Evangelization and Catholic Apologetics with the same warmth and directness he brings to everything. Fellow Nigerian priest Father Kenneth Onyeabor put it best: "It is like a communion we share together. I am happy to be part of this wonderful family."