Most Rev. Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu, the Bishop Emeritus of the Ho Diocese in Ghana, has disclosed a horrifying incident where assailants attempted to blind him by spraying acid into his car.
Recounting the harrowing experience in an interview with Catholic Trends, Bishop Lodonu described the attack as a deliberate attempt on his life.
“I went to Kpando in the evening and some people sprayed acid into my car. They wanted to make me blind,” said Bishop Lodonu.
The motive behind the attack remains undisclosed as the Bishop did not provide specific details regarding the perpetrators or the reason behind the heinous act.
However, Bishop Lodonu revealed that providence intervened as his security personnel, who was seated in his usual position, bore the brunt of the acid assault.
“He had the acid pouring on his face but because he was a soldier, he knew what it was so instead of sitting straight and becoming blind, he bent his face. Nothing happened to him except, it burnt his face,” he explained.
The Bishop emphasized the severity of the incident saying “That was a serious thing. You can have these problems. They are normal,” he remarked.
The Emeritus Bishop was ordained a Priest on 18th May 1964 at St. Augustine’s Church at Gbi-Central by Bishop Anthony Konings who also baptized him in December 1937.
After his ordination to the priesthood, then Rev. Fr. Francis A. K. Lodonu was appointed Assistant Parish Priest to Ho Sacred Heart Church from June 1964 – August 1965.
He studied at the University College of Cork, Ireland from September 1965 to September 1968 where he obtained Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) General Degree in Geography, Sociology and History. He also studied Latin as a non-examinable subject at the university.
At election as Bishop, he was conferred with an honorary professional doctorate in Divinity.
Most Rev. Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu was elected as Bishop on 14th May 1973 as the Titular Bishop of Mascula. He was subsequently ordained a Bishop on 29th June, 1973 in St. Peters Basilica, Rome by Pope Paul VI.
He was among ten bishops ordained in commemoration of the 10th Pontificate of Pope Paul VI.
Then Msgr. Francis A. K. Lodonu was thirty-five years old and nine years as a priest when he was ordained a Bishop with the title, Bishop of the Titular See of Mascula and the Auxiliary Bishop of Keta.
He was therefore Auxiliary Bishop to the Rt. Rev. Anthony Konings, the Bishop of Keta Diocese, from 1973 to 1976.
The Diocesan See was moved from Keta to Ho in 1975 amidst turmoil and misunderstanding. At Easter 1975, the Cathedral Church doors were closed to Bishop Konings in Keta and he could not celebrate the Easter Triduum there.
On August 15, 1976, Bishop Lodonu was enthroned as the Bishop of Keta-Ho Diocese in Ho in the presence of all the faithful, the then Head of State, Col. I. K. Acheampong and almost all the ministers of state.
In 1978, Bishop Lodonu was appointed a member of a committee set up by the government to help bring peace between the Pekis and Awudomes in the Volta Region.
In June 2004, Bishop Lodonu was appointed officially to bring peace between the Nkonyas and the Alavanyos as Vice Chairman of the mediation committee.
Through the efforts of the Catholic Diocesan Peace Building and Conflict Transformation Centre, the mediation committee received the necessary materials and technical support enabling the communities of Nkonya and Alavanyo to reach a level of peace until February 2013 when events changed the peaceful situation to what it is now.
The Most Rev. Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu was awarded the “Order of the Volta” (companion) by the Government of Ghana on July 1, 2006, for distinguishing himself in the Christian religion.
Bishop Lodonu was appointed by the President of Ghana through the Ministry of the Interior as a member of the Ghana National Peace Council, from July 27, 2007, to November 2011.
He dutifully served on this council and travelled the length and breadth of Ghana to give lectures or to help resolve conflict wherever the council was moving to.
It was this council that was succeeded by the National Peace Council with a new legislative instrument Act 818 of 16th May 2011 and gazetted on May 20, 2011.
On November 19, 2012, on his 75th birthday, his biological family outdoored the Bishop Lodonu Educational Endowment Fund to solicit funds to help needy children in education after his great desire as bishop.
In June 2023, he marked his 50th episcopal anniversary. Bishop Lodonu will be 87 in November 2024.
![[Opinion] A call to peaceful and responsible voting: Catholic youth, make your voice be heard on December 7](https://catholic-trends.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Catholic-Trends-11-120x86.png)
