FR. MICHAEL UFOK UDOEKPO, a John Paul II Leader for IRD, Cohort II, is priest of the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene, and full Professor of Biblical Theology and Exegesis at Veritas University Abuja (the Catholic University of Nigeria), where he is currently serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. Michael is widely published in areas of Biblical studies (Hebrew Bible) and Interreligious Dialogue and has lectured both within and outside Nigeria, USA in particular, and remains an active member of several biblical and theological associations.