Nigerian priest's death by suicide leaves Massachusetts parish grieving amid visa dispute

Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

Father Benjamin Madu, a 54-year-old Nigerian priest who served as a hospital chaplain and parish priest on Massachusetts' North Shore, died by suicide earlier this month.

Father James Achadinha, pastor of the Catholic Community of Gloucester and Rockport, announced Father Madu's death to parishioners in a July 3 message, calling it a “devastating loss.”

Father Madu "served Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish with true joy, kindness, and generosity" for more than four years, Father Achadinha wrote, adding that Father Madu had served as a priest for nearly 25 years.

Visa complications 

Father Madu’s death came as he faced a deadline to leave the U.S. under a visa dispute compounded by Trump administration immigration restrictions on Nigeria. He had served in the U.S. on a religious-worker visa, known as an R-1 visa, which allowed him to work for the Archdiocese of Boston. It was set to expire July 29, however, and Father Madu would have to leave the country before he could apply to renew the visa.

As CatholicVote.org reported, the renewal process became easier in January, when the Trump administration ended a requirement that R-1 visa holders wait 12 months before reapplying — a change welcomed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops had previously urged the administration to streamline the visa process for religious workers. 

Nigeria remains one of 75 countries from which the federal government has suspended processing some immigration cases. In December 2025, the Trump administration designated Nigeria one of several "high risk" countries subject to special entry restrictions, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began a "hold and review" policy pausing visa applications from beneficiaries in those countries. 

Lance Conklin, an immigration lawyer in Maryland who has represented religious workers for years, told ACI Africa that the application process has been especially difficult for clients from Nigeria.

Father Madu's home diocese, the Diocese of Abakaliki, had directed him to return to Nigeria earlier than planned. Bishop Ernest Obodo, an auxiliary bishop of a neighboring Nigerian diocese now serving as apostolic administrator of Abakaliki, told ACI Africa he asked Father Madu to come home early to avoid overstaying his visa and to rest before beginning a new assignment set to start Aug. 4.

"We are still in shock and trauma processing the sudden death of our beloved priest, Fr. Ben," Bishop Obodo said.

Farewell message and reluctance to return home 

In a farewell message posted to the parish website days before his death, Father Madu reflected on his years serving Gloucester and Rockport and expressed regret over the circumstances compelling him to leave.

He began celebrating weekend Masses for the Catholic Community of Gloucester and Rockport in 2022, he recalled in the message, and parishioners welcomed him despite their initial curiosity about an African priest.

"Gloucester and Rockport became my Eucharistic community each weekend, and I cannot overstate the love, warmth, kindness, hospitality, and generosity that I received here," he wrote.

"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," he wrote. "My heart is broken, yet my joy remains."

He wrote that he had lived alone in Lynnfield since arriving in the U.S. eight years earlier and described driving to the Cape Ann coast after Mass each week to call his family in Nigeria. 

"There, where the ocean meets the rocks and its endless rhythm becomes the music of my post-Mass peace," he wrote, "there I found comfort and serenity."

“Goodbye from my heart,” he wrote. 

The community mourns

A Mass for Father Madu's soul was celebrated July 4 at Our Lady of Good Voyage Church in Gloucester, followed by the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, according to the parish.

Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston extended "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," according to NBC Boston.

July 7 would have marked Father Madu's 25th anniversary of priestly ordination.

After the sudden loss, Paul Murphy, chairman of Rockport's elected board of selectmen, called the death "heartbreaking," telling ACI Africa that people tried to help extend Father Madu's visa but that "he was clearly scared to go home."

Some local Catholics have questioned whether the Archdiocese of Boston did enough to help him stay, but a spokesman for the archdiocese told ACI Africa they had "tried everything humanly possible to help him stay in Massachusetts," including consulting immigration attorneys. 

"We were simply met with the reality at every step he had to return to Nigeria," the spokesman said.

Brother Patrick Garvey, a diocesan hermit who ministers in the parish, wrote in the parish bulletin that Father Madu "deserved better from the Church" and "deserved better from our country," according to ACI Africa.

Father Achadinha told parishioners in a July 18 message that he plans to share details soon about how the parish will commemorate Father Madu's life and ministry. 

Janine Boucher, a parishioner who captured Father Madu's last known public appearance on video as he processed out of Mass June 21, told ACI Africa that parishioners are not blaming immigration policy for his death. 

"We don't know what really happened," she said. "May never know. But God knows."

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Readers may wish to call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.