Be true apostles of Christ and the Church – Archbishop Kwofie

The Metropolitan Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, His Grace, John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp. has called on Catholics worldwide to be true and dedicated apostles of Christ wherever they find themselves in life. According to him, being true apostles of Christ requires a lot of sacrifices and resilience in today’s world where a lot of vices are craving for space in the life of a Christian, most importantly, the Catholic of today.

The Archbishop said this as part of his sermon to the congregation at St. Sylvanus Catholic Church, Pokuase, on the occasion of their 75th anniversary as a church. Commending the faithful for their tenacity, evangelism, and sacrifices over the period, Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwoffie said Seventy-Five years in the life of a church means a lot of sacrifices and urged the faithful to rally behind the Parish Priest Very Rev. Fr. Michael Owusu-Ofori and his team to move the church to the next level.

The Archbishop, who incidentally was celebrating the 35th anniversary of his ordination as a Catholic Priest, used the occasion to thank God for his own ministry and called for the support of all to help promote God’s Kingdom in the archdiocese and beyond.

In all, one hundred and thirty-five candidates received the sacrament of confirmation administered by the Archbishop.

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Archbishop Kwofie urged the Confirmands to remain in the faith while expressing his hope of meeting all the Confirmands serving the church in various capacities during his next visit and urged them to resist any form of temptation and tendency to abandon the Catholic faith.

The 75th Anniversary Thanksgiving Mass of the church was concelebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Michael Owusu-Ofori, Rev. Fr. Derrick Dowuona-Hammond – Archbishop’s secretary, Rev. Fr. Delight Cabonu, Rev. Fr Courage Dogbe, Rev. Fr. Alex Salakpi, and Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Boateng.

The Parish Priest, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Owusu-Ofori, also urged all Catholics to live exemplary lives to engage more people in the church. According to him, Ghana Statistical Services has indicated that the Catholic population has decreased by 7% as compared to the population thirty years ago, a trend he deems worrying.

Speaking with the media, he said it is time for every Catholic to pave the way for others to follow by living righteously and preaching the word of God at the same time and evangelizing about the Catholic Church to the general public. Very Rev, Fr. Michael Owusu-Ofori, therefore, charged all priests, PPC members, CPC, Catechists, and leaders within various Catholic churches to wake up and work assiduously to achieve the goal of winning souls for Christ through the Catholic faith.

Rededication of the Church
Prior to the Sunday climax, there was a rededication Mass of the refurbished church on Saturday, July 22, 2022, which was celebrated by Most Rev. Bishop Anthony Narh Asare, Auxiliary Bishop of Accra Archdiocese. The Mass was concelebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Michael Owusu-Ofori, the Parish Priest and Friar Emmanuel Nsiah, Ofm, and Rev. Fr. Ernest Dugah.

After the celebration of the Climax Mass, socialization was held to provide entertainment and refreshments for parishioners and invited guests. There were colorful cultural displays by the various ethnic groups exhibiting a variety of traditional music and dance, amidst eating of food and drinks of local and continental varieties.

A number of spiritual and other activities marked the year-long celebration, such as Advent Recollections, Praiz Jam, Lovey-Dovey, Sylva Fair, Novenas, award of Mother and Father of the Year, Health Walks and Talks, Feast Day Mass, St. Sylvanus Goes Retro, 75-hour adoration, 3 -day revival, among other exciting activities.

The St Sylvanus Parish, Pokuase, is one of the Parishes in the Accra Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Ghana. It is located at Pokuase, within the Ga North Municipality, and on the Accra-Kumasi Highway as per our GPS location.

The church was established in July 1948 and currently has three (3) outstations; Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Sapeiman Opah; St Mugagga Catholic Church, Kuntunse; and Epiphany Catholic Church, Mayera.

The church provides for the spiritual, social, educational, and development needs of the surrounding communities and for those who reside far away but choose to fellowship with the church. The church’s rich spiritual and social activities are the main attraction that meets the numerous and varied needs of parishioners.

Source: St. Sylvanus Parish, Pokuase.