A Roman Catholic priest from Nigeria who'd been preparing to leave the United States over a visa issue died last week, according to church officials in Massachusetts, where he'd been serving as a hospital chaplain for several years.
Rev. Benjamin Madu, of the Diocese of Abakaliki, died Thursday, according to an announcement from pastor Father Jim Achadinha of the Catholic community of Gloucester and Rockport, calling it a "devastating loss."
Achadinha said that Madu "served Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish with true joy, kindness, and generosity."
The church and local law enforcement officials haven't released information on Madu's death, but a representative of the Essex County District Attorney's Office said foul play was not suspected. He was due to undergo an autopsy as of Monday, while officials worked to contact relatives of Madu's, believed to be in Nigeria.
A person familiar with the matter told NBC News that Madu died by suicide. The person said that Madu had been to his home country twice in the past few years around the holidays, in 2024 and 2025.
The head of the Archdiocese of Boston, Archbishop Richard Henning, shared a statement extending "our prayers and heartfelt condolences to his family, brother priests and friends in Nigeria as well as the many people Fr. Benjamin Madu ministered to here in Cape Ann and at Salem Hospital."
Madu had been a chaplain, primarily at the hospital, since 2021, according to the archdiocese. Tuesday would have been his 25th anniversary of being ordained to the priesthood, which took place at the St. Theresa Cathedral Abakaliki, in Nigeria's Ebonyi State.
He was due to return to Nigeria this month because his visa was expiring; the archdiocese had said he was instructed by his home diocese to return in early July instead of at the end of the month, as Madu had planned.
Under U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations, Madu had to leave the country to renew his religious worker visa, known as R-1, which was expiring this July 29, according to church officials. The department recently waived a prior requirement that R-1 recipients wait a full year to apply for renewal; however, Nigeria is one of 75 countries for which the federal government has suspended processing some immigration cases, limiting the church's options for keeping Madu in the U.S. legally.
In a goodbye message shared with the community that was posted to the Gloucester and Rockport parishes' website, Madu shared a bit about his experience with the community and approach to his role in the church, as well as a discussion about returning to Nigeria.
"Sincerely, it is not my wish to return home right now, 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," he wrote, adding that he'd gladly return to minister and will miss the community.
The announcement last month that Madu, whom parishioners called "Father Ben," was set to leave had caught many in the congregation off guard.
Church leaders have previously said that the priest was serving at St. Ann’s and Our Lady of Good Voyage in Gloucester as well as St. Joachim’s in Rockport while also working as a chaplain at Salem Hospital, supporting patients and families during some of their most difficult moments.
Source: NBC Boston / News Express