Ho Diocesan Catholic Youth launch RECOWA Youth Days 2026, receive cross and icon

by Daniel Orlando

January 19, 2026

in Ghana, News

Reading Time: 2 mins read

Ho Diocesan Catholic Youth launch RECOWA Youth Days 2026, receive cross and icon

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The Ho Diocesan Catholic Youth has officially launched the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) Youth Days (WYD), slated for September 2026 in Accra, Ghana, positioning the Diocese firmly within the spiritual and organizational journey toward the major regional youth gathering.

The colourful launch, captured in vibrant moments of clergy and youth posing with the official RECOWA Youth Days insignia, underscored a shared commitment to faith, unity, and youth participation within the Church in West Africa.

The ceremony also marked the formal reception of the RECOWA Cross and Icon into the Ho Diocese. The sacred symbols, central to the spiritual preparation for the Youth Days, were officially handed over to the Diocese, signifying its inclusion in the continental pilgrimage leading up to Accra 2026.

The Cross and Icon are expected to journey from parish to parish across the Diocese, fostering prayer, reflection, and renewed enthusiasm among Catholic youth.

Clergy and young people participated actively in the event, highlighting the collaborative spirit between Church leadership and the youth. The presence of the Cross and Icon, visibly held and displayed during the launch, served as a powerful reminder of Christ’s message and the call to live out the Gospel values of love, service, and unity in a diverse West African context.

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The launch forms part of broader diocesan activities aimed at mobilising young Catholics to take ownership of the RECOWA Youth Days, encouraging spiritual renewal, leadership development, and intercultural exchange ahead of the 2026 gathering. Through catechesis, parish-level activities, and devotional events linked to the pilgrimage of the Cross and Icon, the Diocese hopes to deepen youth engagement and preparedness.

RECOWA Youth Days 2026 is expected to attract thousands of young Catholics from across the West African sub-region, offering a platform for prayer, dialogue, and celebration of faith.

The Archdiocese of Accra’s selection as host city places Ghana at the heart of this regional ecclesial event, with dioceses such as Ho playing a key role in the build-up.

As the Cross and Icon begin their parish-to-parish journey within the Ho Diocese, Church leaders are optimistic that the pilgrimage will ignite spiritual growth and unity, ensuring that the youth are not only ready for Accra 2026, but also strengthened in their daily Christian witness long after the celebrations.

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Discussion about this post

Daily Reading

Thursday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time

First Letter to the Corinthians 8,1b-7.11-13.

Brothers and sisters : Knowledge inflates... with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.
So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols: we know that "there is no idol in the world," and that "there is no God but one."
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth (there are, to be sure, many "gods" and many "lords"),
yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist.
But not all have this knowledge. There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols, their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.
Thus through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction, the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers and wound their consciences, weak as they are, you are sinning against Christ.
Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause my brother to sin.

Psalms 139(138),1-3.13-14ab.23-24.

O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you... know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.

Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.

Probe me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my thoughts;
See if my way is crooked,
and lead me in the way of old.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,27-38.

Jesus said to his disciples : "To you... who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.
Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
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Ho Diocesan Catholic Youth launch RECOWA Youth Days 2026, receive cross and icon

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