Pope Francis baptises John Ogha a Nigerian immigrant

According to Italian news reports, John Ogah, had been begging for spare change outside the Carrefour market in Rome’s Centocelle neighbourhood when a masked thief, armed with a meat cleaver, tried to make off with 400 euros ($493) he had stolen from the cashiers

Ogha confronted the thief with nothing more than his bare hands, wrested the cleaver away and held him by the collar until police arrived.

Ogah then disappeared, fearing he would be deported because he didn’t have his papers in order. But Rome police authorities sought to reward his courage and within a month had given him a coveted Italian residency permit that had been denied him when his asylum bid failed

Ogah said his dream was to be legally resident in Italy and have a job so he wouldn’t have to beg to support his child back home in Nigeria.

John Ogah had left Nigeria and, after a stay in Libya, set off for Italy on a migrant smuggler’s boat in May 2014.

“I don’t want to be a hero. I just want to be legal, work and have a dignified life in Italy.” says Ogah.

Yesterday, Pope Francis baptized him during the solemn pomp of one of the holiest nights in the Catholic liturgical calendar,

Ogah chose as his baptismal name Francesco.

Source: La Republica