The Provincial Custody of St. Anthony of Padua in Ghana, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Coast, Ghana, recently celebrated the 140th anniversary of the implantation of Catholicism in Southern Ghana. To mark this historic event, two separate ordinations were conducted.
On May 13, 2021, the Most Reverend Gabriel Charles PALMER-BUCKLE, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, ordained five friars to the diaconate at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church in Elmina, Ghana. The newly ordained deacons are Friars Eric Kwasi BOATENG; Christian AHIAWODZI; Daniel AFFUL; Gabriel BOATENG; and Kennedy TSORMEY. In his opening remarks, the Vicar Custos, Friar Eugene ANTWI-BOASIAKO, thanked the archbishop for accepting the invitation to ordain the five friars and for incorporating their ordination into the archdiocesan anniversary. In his homily, the archbishop emphasized the need for the friars to preach the Gospel more by the way they live than by using mere words. Moreover, he called the friars to be models for the youth of today’s world.
On Saturday, May 15, 2021, the Most Reverend Henryk M. JAGODZIŃSKI, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, ordained Friar Emmanuel Adjei NSIAH to the priesthood. The ordination took place at the St. Joseph Minor Basilica in Elmina, which was the first church erected in southern Ghana. The Vicar Custos, Friar Eugene ANTWI-BOASIAKO, presented the candidate to the Apostolic Nuncio for ordination. The Apostolic Nuncio thanked the Archbishop of Cape Coast for having invited him to perform the ordination. It was the first time that the Apostolic Nuncio had presided at a priestly ordination as an archbishop. In his homily, the Apostolic Nuncio encouraged Friar Emmanuel to imitate the humility and simplicity of St. Francis of Assisi, wherever he might be assigned to work.
We congratulate the newly ordained deacons and priest and pray God may give them strength.
Friar Pius Kofi ASARE, OFM Conv., Custodial Secretary
