A Nigerian Catholic priest serving in the United States has died by suicide after learning he would have to leave the country and return to Nigeria, where he had repeatedly expressed fears for his safety.
The Reverend Benjamin Okwy Madu, 54, was found dead on July 2 at his home in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. The Archdiocese of Boston confirmed his death, noting that he had served as a hospital chaplain and ministered to Catholic communities on Cape Ann since 2021.
Father Madu’s R-1 religious worker visa was due to expire on July 29. However, according to the Boston Globe, his home Diocese of Abakaliki in Ebonyi State had instructed him to return to Nigeria before that date in preparation for a new pastoral assignment scheduled to begin on August 4.
Reports indicate that the priest was deeply distressed by the prospect of returning to Nigeria.
In a farewell message posted on his parish’s website shortly before his death, Madu acknowledged that leaving the United States was not a decision he wanted to make.
He wrote that returning home was not his wish, “but circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United States come to an end.”
According to parishioners, the emotional strain had become increasingly visible. The Boston Globe reported that Madu suffered a panic attack while driving to celebrate Mass on the Sunday before his death and was taken to a hospital emergency department for treatment.
Boston Archbishop Richard Henning later informed priests in an internal email that Father Madu had “tragically took his own life,” according to correspondence seen by the National Catholic Register. The Archdiocese’s public announcement of his death, however, did not state the cause.
Authorities in Massachusetts have opened an investigation into the incident.
The office of Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker confirmed that the Massachusetts State Police are handling the investigation, adding that there is currently no indication of foul play.
Meanwhile, the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition linked the priest’s death to the emotional burden created by his imminent return to Nigeria.
In a statement distributed to several media organisations, the coalition said Madu “suffered acute emotional distress and panic over the prospect of returning to a region where Catholic clergy are actively targeted for kidnapping and assassination,” adding that restrictions affecting visa renewals for Nigerians also contributed to the circumstances leading to his death.
“The terrifying reality of these rigid restrictions was made plain on July 2, 2026, when Father Benjamin Okwy Madu, a beloved 54-year-old Nigerian Catholic priest serving the North Shore of Massachusetts, tragically took his own life,” the coalition stated.
Born on May 15, 1972, Father Madu was ordained into the priesthood at St. Theresa’s Cathedral in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. He would have celebrated his 25th anniversary as a Catholic priest on July 7, just five days after his death.
He had served in the Archdiocese of Boston for nearly six years under successive R-1 religious worker visas.
Archdiocese spokesperson Terrence Donilon told the Boston Globe there was no available pathway to extend Madu’s visa under the current US immigration policy affecting Nigerian nationals.
The priest had previously spoken publicly about his fears of returning to Nigeria, where kidnappings and killings of Catholic clergy have become a recurring security concern in recent years.
Arlene Lesch, a member of Holy Family Church where Madu served, told the Boston Globe that parishioners had appealed to political leaders in an effort to help him remain in the United States.
Following his death, the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition called on the US government to suspend deportations of Nigerian nationals and grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Nigerians currently living in the country, arguing that worsening insecurity continues to place many returnees at risk.