“Count no one saved, until they are found in heaven.”

“If you want to become a Catholic, live as a faithful Catholic, so that when people see you, they know that you are a Catholic.”

Iwene was born in September of 1903, in Igboezunu, of southern Nigeria, to Tabansi and Ejikwevi Tansi, who were Igbo farmers that practiced the “traditional religion” of the area.

His mother was falsely accused of being a witch by a medicine man for having caused the death of several youngsters and sentenced to death by poison. His father wed again and had 4 boys and a girl.

During a mud fight with other children, Iwene became permanently blinded in one eye.

His father wanted him to get a better education to lead the family out of poverty and so at the age of 6, he was sent to the Christian village of Nduka, where he was baptized 3 years later by Irish missionaries and given the name Michael.

At 22, after several years of working as a catechist and school teacher, against his family’s wishes, he entered the Seminary and completed philosophical and theological studies. He became the 1st priest in the Aguleri region with his initial pastoral ministry in Nnewi.

In 1939 he was appointed to Dunukofia where he courageously tackled immoral customs and destroyed the harmful myths. To combat premarital cohabitation, he set up marriage prep centers where girls and young women could be sheltered and receive Christian formation. For moral education, he also established the League of Mary, with remarkable success.

He traveled village to village preaching, catechizing, and setting up prayer centers that eventually became parishes. His zeal transformed the people into a true Christian community resulting in so many vocations that his parish held the diocesan record.

He longed for the monastic life but there were no monasteries in Nigeria. At 47, the Bishop requested one of the priests embrace monastic life and Michael accepted, entering the Trappist Abbey in Leicestershire, England. He was admitted, and took the name Cyprian.

The experience molded him as he realized the mistakes he had made in Nigeria with hard discipline and expectations placed on those under him and he mended his ways.

After 13 years of living a hidden life, he felt it was time to establish a monastery in Nigeria, but political tensions caused his superiors to choose neighboring Cameroon instead. It was the only time he lost his temper, but regained control and accepted God’s Will with fervor.

His health quickly deteriorated, but he did not complain. He became too sick to join the new monastery. It wasn’t until pain in his leg grew so strong for him, that he finally stated it was “a little pain” that a fellow priest coerced him to go to the Leicester Royal Hospital for examination. He died the same day, January 20, 1964, as a result of arteriosclerosis and a ruptured aneurysm.

“Whether you like it or not, saving your soul is your own business. If you are weak and fall by the wayside, we shall push you aside and tread on you as we march forward to meet God.”

For God’s Glory.