By CHINENYE OFFOR

A Catholic Priest and Gospel musician, Rev. Fr. Benedict Onyemechalu, best known as FadaBen says priesthood is his childhood desire, while his music calling is hereditary, propelled by passion.

FadaBen, the Parish Priest of St. Andrew Catholic Church, Orozo, Abuja, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

Speaking on how he became a Priest, FadaBen said it was his early life desire, actualised in 2013 when he was ordained a Catholic Priest.

“There was this urge to always make myself available for God to use me to minister to people.

“The younger desires to make heaven, and the priesthood is like a medium to actualise this.

“I pursued this desire, trying to see where it leads me to. And so, it led me to the noble vocation of the Priesthood,” he said.

On his music career, the “Magic is in You” gospel song crooner, said singing is in his lineage and it is therefore natural that he embraced it with his calling.

“Having been exposed to singers and music enthusiasts growing up, it is only natural that I follow that path in exploring my God-given creative ability.

“It became quite intense when I discovered music to be a means of creative expression, a medium to express myself,” he said

FadaBen recalled that, in 2003, he started writing choral and liturgical songs for use in Catholic worship, some of which, he said, were still being used in Catholic Churches.

The priest said he switched to contemporary gospel music in 2016, with a view to exploring the other kinds of talents in him.

In addition to priesthood and singing, FadaBen said he is a multipotentialite, exploring songwriting, music producing and had scores of records to his name.

“I am also a Digital Content Creator with a penchant for developing attention-grabbing contents that are capable of drawing the young creative minds to the things of God.

“I have a great interest and experience in photography, videography, editing, community building and youth development.

“I believe and strongly support all that pushes for the growth of innovation in creative arts since a creative mind is a God-driven mind,” he said.

Speaking on possible clash in priesthood with his other chosen fields, FadaBen said being a preacher does not stop him from following his passion.

“I say my masses and attend to the needs of my parishioners, counsel those in need of counselling, give spiritual direction to those who come to me.

“I still find some ways of consolidating all of these with my passion, because, once, the passion is genuine, you will always make the time for it.

“I could be producing a song, or shooting or working on a video and then comes the knock at my door… A parishioner needs my attention!

“I must go and attend to whoever the person is, and will come back and meet my work where I left off, with almost same level of concentration and consciousness,” he said.

FadaBen disclosed that he had, not less than 20 single tracks to his credit, all out there on the distribution channels making waves

He said his debut Extended Play (EP) was released in February 2022, while hoping to produce an album soonest. (NAN)

•Gospel Artist and Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Benedict Onyemechalu, popularly known as FadaBen

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