events/news

10th Annual Convention Christ The King College Onitsha Alumni Association in America

Christ the King College, (CKC) Onitsha was founded on 2 February 1933, by the Most Rev. Charles Heerey,
C.S.Sp, the Archbishop of Onitsha. At the outset the college shared premises with St. Charles Teacher Training
College, Onitsha it quickly became obvious that the shared arrangement was not convenient for the young CKC
students.

The Executive Committee of Christ the King College Alumni Association in America (CKC-AAA)
at their meeting held on 1 June 2001, decided to institute an annual Exceptional Service Award
(ESA) that would recognize members who had rendered to meritorious service to CKC-AAA. The
Plenary Session of the Fifth Annual Convention of CKCAAA held in Boston, MA, on 13-

Introduction: The undersigned visited CKC campus briefly on 28 January 2012. Since the visit was
unannounced and I was unable to reach the college principal Fr. Charles Okwumuo on the phone on
short notice, I undertook a quick drive through tour of the campus.

Oh God Our Father, Thou Searcher of Men’s hearts
Help us to draw near to Thee in Sincerity and truth
May our religion be filled with gladness and
May our worship of Thee be natural;
Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking
And suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish.
Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life.

Since the founding of Christ the King College Onitsha in February 1933, a succession
of very visionary, capable, dedicated educationists and administrators consisting of
clergy and laity have been entrusted with running this legacy and elite academic
institution and training youths under their charge for leadership and public service.
The slate of principals is now categorized into three tiers (see below), reflecting the era
in which they served and the role they played in the history of the institution.

Charles Heerey was born on 29 November 1889 in Oldcastle, Co. Meath,
Ireland. Along with his brother, Patrick “Paddy” Heerey, he had his early education in
Oldcastle and went on to study at the Blackrock College from 1905-1909.