On August 13, 2022, five friars of the Provincial Custody of St. Anthony of Padua in Ghana made their solemn profession of vows and thus committed their lives entirely to the Conventual Franciscan Family as perpetual members of the Order. The new solemnly professed are Friars Emmanuel SOMIAH; John Decribb Jackson AMANKWAA; Wisdom AMEKPORDI; Isaac Naagyie ABEIFA; and Richard ANNOBIL. The solemn profession ceremony took place at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church in Elmina, Ghana.
The event started at 10:00 a.m. and ended at around 1:00 p.m. Most of the friars of the Custody were present, along with the family members of the newly professed, other priests and religious within the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, Ghana, and friends and parishioners from the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church in Elmina. The Provincial Custos, Friar Vitus Edem Yao MENSAH, received the vows of the friars and urged them to stay committed with new zeal and passion to the vows they have professed in the midst of God’s people. In his homily, the Custos encouraged them to do away with the “we have arrived” mentality, and instead, see their new commitment as a way of enrolling into the school of humility, knowing that they still have a lot to learn in order to become better Christians and friars. He further urged them to respond positively to God’s voice in their various apostolates and duties by cooperating with the friars who have already embarked on this same journey and have amassed a great wealth of experience. The Custos concluded his homily by thanking the newly professed friars for taking this bold step. He also thanked their families for supporting them all along. He further encouraged the friars to stay committed to the evangelical councils and to find joy in their respective communities, which henceforth would become their new homes. The five friars were welcomed into the fraternity with songs of praise and gladness sung by all the solemnly professed friars of the Provincial Custody.
Friar Francis Pascal AFFUM, Custodial Secretary
