After baptizing Chisom Leslie Eze, Father Canice Enyiaka places a white baptismal garment on the smiling baby, who is held by godmother Caroline Ibijemilosi. Chisom was one of the Eze family's quintuplets baptized on April 25, 2021 at St. Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church in Lanham, Maryland. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)
Patricia and Basil Eze's family experienced five-fold blessings on April 25, 2021, as their quintuplets were baptized at St. Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church in Lanham, Maryland. The babies -- Chimdi Louisa, Chimezie Lauren, Chinanu Lisa, Sopulu Basil (the only boy) and Chisom Leslie – were born 10 months earlier on June 25, 2020 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring and are believed to be the first set of quintuplets born in the hospital’s 58-year history. (Catholic Standard photos by Andrew Biraj)
Father Canice Enyiaka at left baptizes quintuplet Chisom Leslie Eze as she is being held by godmother Caroline Ibijemilosi. At center in the background is the babies’ mother, Patricia Eze. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)Patricia Eze, at left foreground, helps put one of her quintuplets in a stroller, as her husband Basil Eze, at right, is about to push the stroller into St. Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church for the babies’ Baptisms on April 25, 2021. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Father Canice Enyiaka at left baptizes quintuplet Chimdi Eze as she is being held by godmother Vera Okoye. Standing next to the priest is the babies’ mother, Patricia Eze, and at right is Basil Eze, the father of the quintuplets. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Mother Patricia Eze holds baby Chimdi Louisa during the April 25 Mass at St. Matthias the Apostle Church, where the quintuplets were baptized. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Patricia and Basil Eze, the parents of the quintuplets, pray during the Mass where the babies were baptized. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) During the April 25 Mass, Patricia Eze holds her baby son Sopulu, the only boy among the family’s quintuplets. Chinna, Patricia’s 5-year-old daughter, sits in the back of the stroller next to her. The two babies seen in the stroller are Chinanu in front and Chimezie in the middle. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) At left, Bernadine Nonye Okpala holds baby Chimezie Eze. At center and right, parents Patricia and Basil Eze hold two of the other quintuplets during the Mass at St. Matthias the Apostle Church where the five babies were baptized on April 25, 2021. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) During the Mass where the Eze quintuplets were baptized, their big sister Chinna kisses her baby sibling Chimezie. At right is Bernadine Nonye Okpala. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Baby Chimdi Louisa Eze is held by her godmother Vera Okoye during the Mass at St. Matthias the Apostle Church. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Patricia Eze, joined by her husband Basil, holds their baby son Sopulu during the Mass where the quintuplets were baptized. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Chinanu Eze, one of the quintuplets, is held by her godmother Pauline Muoneke during the Mass. At left is the baby’s godfather, Ernest Muoneke. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)Basil Eze, the father of the baby quintuplets, holds his 5-year-old daughter Chinna during the Mass. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Godmother Vivian Okekeocha holds baby Chimezie Lauren Eze at the Mass where the quintuplets were baptized. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Near the end of the April 25 Mass at St. Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church, Father Canice Enyiaka presents the baptismal certificates for the quintuplets to their parents, Patricia and Basil Eze, who are joined by their 5-year-old daughter Chinna. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj) Patricia and Basil Eze, at left, the parents of the quintuplets baptized at St. Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church on April 25, 2021, are joined by their babies and the godparents. Standing next to them, from left to right, are godmother Pauline Muoneke joined by her husband Ernest Muoneke as she holds baby Chinanu Lisa; godmother Vera Okoye with baby Chimdi Louisa; godmother Vivian Okekeocha with her husband Geoffrey behind her as she holds baby Chimezie Lauren; godmother Dr. Bernadine Okpala holding baby Sopulu Basil; and godmother Caroline Ibijemilosi holding baby Chisom Leslie. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)
When the Eze quintuplets were born in June 2020 at Holy Cross Hospital, they each weighed about one pound and received life-saving care in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. By the time of their Baptisms 10 months later, they weighed between 17 and 19 pounds, and were all doing well at home. Their father, Basil Eze, called them “miracle babies” and said that just as God had given them to him and his wife, on the day of their Baptisms, he was giving them to God. “I’m expecting so much from them. The glory of God will guide them in whatever they choose to do in life,” he said.
