Nigeria paper Vanguard has reported that locals came out in their hundreds to thank the deceased Johannah Schleichelt, who donated her life savings to build a modern medical centre in Oka-Akoko, Ondo State.
The Sancta Maria Catholic Medical Centre has had 25 beds commissioned as part of "Bishop's Week" in the region.
It has been reported that Mrs Schleichelt had been saving in order to donate the money.
She declined to have her photo taken and insisted instead that she wanted to be remembered for giving life to people who are ill.
Mrs Schleichelt had worked as a waitress in New York and arranged her wishes to Monsignor Thomas Modugno, of the Archdiocese of New York.
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, Most Rev Jude Ayodeji Arogundade, had visited New York and the donation had been channelled through him in order to make Mrs Schleichelt's wish a reality.
The Director of the the Health Department in Ondo, Fr. Fidelis Olokunboro, said that Mrs Schleichelt's only request was that the hospital should have a chapel and that her parents' names - Carl and Hannah Schleichelt, should be engraved on its altar.
Vanguard reported that Fr. Fidelis Olokunboro said Mrs Schleichelt had lived a moderate life and worked to build a hospital for people she had never met.
He praised her virtue and challenged other Christians to be as giving during the homily mass, which was attended by priests from all over the globe.
The Bishop of Ondo Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Jude Arogundade, said the hospital will house world-class medical facilities including a blood bank and pharmacy.
