Passing of Fr. Joseph Maung Win and Sir Babatunde Lucky Omoluwa

Dear Friends and Colleagues of Religions for Peace (RfP):

It is with sorrow and grief that I inform you of the passing of our great leaders Fr. Joseph Maung Win [Secretary General, RfP Myanmar] and Sir Babatunde Lucky Omoluwa, KSS [International Trustee, RfP].

Fr. Joseph Maung Win co-led the preparatory process for the launch of RfP Myanmar, the country’s first representative inter-religious body, in 2012. Fr. Joseph advanced peace and reconciliation from grassroots communities to the national level. Under his leadership, RfP Myanmar evolved into the vibrant, action-oriented body it is today.  Fr. Joseph led the Catholic Church’s Commissions of Inter-Religious Relations and Ecumenism and served as the Archdiocesan Director of Karuna Mission Social Solidarity (Caritas) and Justice and Peace Commission. As a man of humility, love and compassion, he devoted himself to serving people in need and realizing a multi-religious vision of Peace in Myanmar.

Sir Babatunde Lucky Omoluwa was a RfP International Trustee, an illustrious entrepreneur and the founder of Pinnacle Communications Limited, a Nigerian broadcast engineering company. Pinnacle has received various international awards for its best business practices. “Sir Lucky,” as he was fondly called, silently but eagerly reached out to widows, orphans and the most vulnerable people in Nigeria and beyond.  Sir Lucky was a dedicated philanthropist and was knighted by H.H. Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. He made a great contribution to the RfP Meeting of International Trustees with a private audience with H.H. Pope Francis in October 2017.

The families of Fr. Joseph and Sir Lucky, including the members of the RfP Myanmar and Nigeria families, remain in our hearts and prayers during this time of sorrow and mourning.

During this challenging time, may we also take the opportunity to celebrate their outstanding contributions to the RfP family to and to a more peaceful world. We will continue to carry the torch they lighted to advance peace with justice and care for all.

Yours in solidarity,

Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, Secretary General, a.i.