Fr Nixon Mullah, a member of St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart (also known as the Josephites), has died after a yearslong battle with cancer. He was 51 years old.
The news was announced on Feb. 19, one day after his death while surrounded by his family in his native Cameroon.
Josephite Staff
Born in Africa in 1974, Mullah was raised as a Catholic and educated at Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary in Small Soppo, Buea, in Southwest Cameroon and St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui. The latter is affiliated with the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where Mullah also resided for a time during his studies.
Mullah was ordained in 2005 for the Archdiocese of Urbino in Italy, before realizing a call to the Josephites two years later. The historic religious community founded in Baltimore serves African Americans in parishes around the country.
During his priestly ministry, Mullah served at Historic St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Baltimore and at Holy Family Catholic Church in Baytown Texas, part of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Mullah also spent time as a formator, serving as vice rector of St. Joseph Seminary in Washington, and later as rector beginning in 2019.
Mullah was also for a time the rector of St. Martin de Porres House of Studies in Ibadan, Nigeria, the country where the Josephites have received most of their vocations since the turn of the millennium.
In 2015, shortly before being appointed to the house of studies, Mullah completed a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, also known as the Angelicum. His dissertation was entitled “Seeds of the Word and Fruits of the Spirit: Elements for a Pneumatological Theology of Religions from Vatican II to ‘Redemptoris Missio’”.
During his time as rector of St. Joseph Seminary, where the Josephites’ major seminarians live during their theological studies, Mullah was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. He underwent chemotherapy and battled the disease while continuing to serve as rector, also remaining active with the Cameroonian Catholic community of the Washington metropolitan area.
“He cared deeply about [his seminarians’] wellbeing and went out of his way to assure success in their studies,” the Josephites' superior general, Bishop Emeritus John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, said in a story posted to the community’s website.
“He was a man of great energy and integrity—a true priest-servant always ready to be of service,” Bishop Ricard said.
Mullah’s condition worsened last year, and his final days were spent in Cameroon, where he died on Feb. 18. Burial will take place there in Africa.
The Josephites have announced that a memorial Mass will be celebrated for Mullah on Friday, Feb. 28, at St. Luke Catholic Church in Washington. A reception will follow the liturgy.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
