Two to profess simple vows

Two men will profess simple vows in the Norbertine order on Aug. 28 - the feast of St. Augustine - at St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere. Abbot E. Thomas De Wane, O.Praem., will preside and preach at the 4 p.m. Mass in the abbey church.

Making their professions at the Mass will be:

-- Onwuham Akpa of St. John Parish, Mgbowo, Enugu State, Nigeria. Akpa is the son of Iruke Thomas and Oledinulo Grace Akpa. He was born Oct. 17, 1960, at Moroa River, Nassarawa State, Nigeria. He attended Boys' Secondary School, Mgbowo, and Claretian Institute of Philosophy, Owerri, Nigeria. He has degrees in theology/religious studies from the University of Ibadan and public administration from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.

Akpa has served in evangelization and public relations in several parishes in the Diocese of Enugu. He was vested as a novice on Aug. 27, 1998, in Jackson, Miss. Since then, he has been involved in ministries with the Social Concerns Office and Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe; Stewpot Community Services and Christ the King Parish, both in Jackson.

-- Michael Doyle is a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was born Jan. 8, 1966, to Hugh and Ann (Dillon) Doyle. He has a degree in French language and literature from Western Washington University. Before entering the Norbertines in June, 1998, at the Priory of Santa Maria de la Vid in Albuquerque, he worked for real estate companies and new homebuilders in Seattle and Arlington, Va.

Doyle has attended St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana for the Archdiocese of Seattle. He has played the cello since 1974 for several symphony orchestras, numerous church functions, special receptions and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the Catholic University of America symphony orchestra. Since joining the Norbertines, he has engaged in several ministries, including jail ministry and working with children with disabilities.

This fall, Akpa and Doyle will begin graduate studies in theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.