Benjamin Madu, a 54-year-old Catholic priest from Nigeria, reportedly committed suicide in North Shore Massachusetts, United States.
Madu was found dead at his residence on July 2, 2026, days
before his R-1 religious worker visa was due to expire.
Madu served as a priest at St. Ann and Our Lady of Good
Voyage churches in Gloucester and St. Joachim in Rockport — all in the US.
His visa was due to expire on July 29 and efforts to renew
it proved unsuccessful owing to the recent migrant restriction policies of US
President Donald Trump.
To renew the visa, he was expected to return to Nigeria.
In June, there were compassionate pleas from parishioners
about the visa struggles of the Catholic priest.
NBC Boston reported that a source familiar with the
situation said the priest took his own life.
Prior to his death, Madu had expressed fears about returning
to Nigeria, describing the situation as “heartbroken”.
According to Boston Globe, the cleric told parishioners at
St Joachim Church in Rockport during mass on June 21, that he was worried about
what might happen to him should he return to Nigeria.
Boston Globe reported that Madu, in a farewell post
published on the church website, said he did not want to return to Nigeria “but
circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United
States come to an end”.
“My heart is broken, yet my joy remains. If I am ever given
the chance to minister again to the people of Gloucester and Rockport, I would
gladly do it all over again,” he wrote.
“I will miss the home I found away from home, a mother far
from my mother, a father far from my father, and a people far from my own
people.”
APPEAL TO TRUMP
In a statement, the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition
appealed to Trump to suspend the forceful removal of Nigerians from US to
places where their safety is not guaranteed.
The coalition asked Trump to grant temporary protected
status (TPS) to “those fleeing what local leaders describe as an active
genocide”.
“The U.S.-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition is making a
direct, emotional appeal to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco
Rubio: An Immediate Moratorium on Deportations: Stop the forced removal of all
Nigerian nationals whose lives are at risk upon return,” the statement reads.
“Father Madu’s legal stay on his R-1 religious worker visa
was expiring. Under Presidential Proclamation 10998 and concurrent
administrative directives enacted in early 2026, severe pauses and restrictions
were placed on visas and benefit processing for citizens of 39
nations—including Nigeria.
“For foreign missionary priests, securing a renewal or a
path to permanent residency became an impossible bureaucratic maze.”
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