Fordham Priest's Four Decades in Africa

In 1964, Father Ugo Nacciarone boarded a plane to Lagos, Nigeria, thinking he was just going to teach chemistry for a few years. Instead, he found a whole new life — one filled with more than forty years of joy, challenge, friendship, and faith across Nigeria, Ghana, and Zambia. Among his peers, he is considered to be a beloved and influential figure in the African church.

Now 93, Father Ugo is retired and back in New York, living near the Fordham University campus. I sat down with him to hear about his decades-long journey of teaching.

“If I learned nothing else in Africa,” he reflected, “I learned patience.” His 2012 book, Accidental African Blessings, is a memoir about his life's mission and time spent in Africa.

[This interview ran on the What’s What podcast from WFUV News on 7/9/2025]