The Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, His Excellency Julian Kabore, has emphasized the significance of the upcoming Jubilee Year as a moment for spiritual renewal, hope, and a renewed commitment to the core mission of the Church.
Addressing a gathering of bishops, priests, and faithful in Obuasi on November 11, the Nuncio called on the Church in Ghana to see the Jubilee not merely as a time of celebration, but as an opportunity to “start afresh from Christ.”
Opening his address with gratitude to His Excellency Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, Bishop of Sunyani and President of the GCBC, Archbishop Kabore spoke with warmth and joy about being part of the important gathering.
He highlighted the theme of the Plenary Assembly, “Jubilee Year: A Time to Proclaim Christ, Hope for the Church and Ghana,” noting its relevance in the context of the challenges facing the country and the world today.
He recalled that Pope Francis’ words in his Papal Bull for the Jubilee resonated deeply with him: “everyone of us, more or less, knows what hope is because, in the heart of each person, hope burns.”
In a world grappling with socio-political, economic, and environmental crises—including the current challenges in Ghana posed by illegal mining, the Nuncio reminded the bishops and all gathered that the Jubilee Year is an invitation to renew hope. “The Jubilee is a time to be renewed in hope,” he emphasized.
The Apostolic Nuncio noted that the heart of every Jubilee celebration is a return to Christ. “At the end of the great Jubilee of the year 2000, Pope John Paul II reminded us that every Jubilee is an opportunity to start afresh from Christ,” Kabore said, quoting the late pope’s Apostolic Letter *Novo Millennio Ineunte*. The Nuncio urged the Church to renew its focus on Christ, who is “our hope, our life, our salvation.”
He cautioned against the temptation to devise new programs and initiatives, reminding the bishops that the Church’s mission remains constant: “The program has its center in Jesus Christ himself,” Kabore said. “It is not about inventing new plans, but about deepening our commitment to the person of Christ—knowing Him, loving Him, and imitating Him.”
Echoing St. Paul’s advice to his disciple Timothy to “rekindle God’s gift,” Archbishop Kabore emphasized that the Church in Ghana must continually renew its commitment to the Gospel and embrace its mission of evangelization and social transformation. “This program does not change,” he said, “but it must be lived out in ways that are contextualized, adapted, and inculturated in the reality of each local Church.”
