A Portuguese Priest of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, Rev. Fr. Francisco José de Sousa Machado has been canonically installed as the second Parish Priest of the Our Lady of Assumption (OLA) Catholic Church at New Achimota in Ghana’s capital Accra.
Fr. Machado was appointed as Parish Priest of OLA on September 1, 2021 by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp.
He will be assisted by Rev. Fr. Cossi Bonaventure Henri Gnaha, also a Comboni Priest, who worked in the Cape Coast Archdiocese before his transfer to OLA.
With his appointment and installation, Fr. Machado has been accorded the needed faculties and jurisdiction to enable him perform his duties to the people of God of OLA Parish with duties spelt out in the Church’s Code of Canon law Canon 515 to 554 especially 515 to 540.
He is also expected to be guided by the statutes and other customs of the Accra Archdiocese.
In congratulating him, the Archbishop stated in the appointment letter “I know that you will put yourself to this new service with greater zeal and commitment especially in this time as we rise up to build together the Christian faith in the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra.”
The installation rite on Sunday, June 5, 2022, the solemnity of Pentecost, which is the birthday of the Catholic Church, was performed by Very Rev. Fr. Peter Kofi Atsu, a Delegate of the Archbishop and the Dean of the Kaneshie Deanery.
Performing the installation, Fr. Atsu said “In the name, and by the authority of his grace, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Accra, I place and constitute you in the real and actual possession of the parish of Our Lady of Assumption in accordance with the letters of appointment in the name of the father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
He appealed to the parishioners to give their unflinching support with the newly installed Priest and cooperate with him since the task wasn’t an easy one but with a collective effort, the Parish can grow from strength to strength.
During the rites, Fr. Machado promised obedience, reverence and honour to the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis and Archbishop Kwofie and their successors.
He also promised to devote himself zealously to his obligations as Pastor, in Our Lady of Assumption Parish, assuring that “I shall administer the goods of the parish and church faithfully, and I shall not alienate them, and shall strive to the best of my abilities to recover anything unnecessarily alienated.”
In a welcome, Mr. Alphonse Avevor, the Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council thanked the Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie for appointing Fr. Francisco Machado as our second Parish Priest since the Church was elevated to a full Parish status on Friday, August 15, 2008 by the Most Rev. Charles G. Palmer-Buckle, then Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra.
He noted that the hard work and sacrifices of the many lay women and men who offered supporting services in Christian community had brought the people of God this far and prayed that parishioners would give their unflinching support to the newly installed Parish Priest.
The Mass was concelebrated by Fr. Gnaha and Rev. Fr. Evans Kotoku, a Comboni Missionary.
The first installed Parish Priest of OLA was Italian Comboni Priest, Rev. Fr. Eugenio Petrogalli, MCCJ. He was installed on Sunday, August 17, 2008 after the OLA Church was erected as a Parish on August 15, 2008.
The OLA Catholic Church was established on August 15, 1983 at the Asabea Maternity Home at New Achimota, where the first Holy Mass was celebrated.
The Church later went through several transitions until the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus took over the pastoral care of the community twenty-one years ago (2001). Under their care was also the St. Louis Community at Parakou Estate. Fr. Francisco Machado and the late Fr. Antonio Dasilva were the first Comboni Priests to arrive in OLA.
Prior to the arrival of the Combonis, OLA had the Pastoral solicitude of several Priests from the Holy Spirit Cathedral, other Diocesan clergy and Religious.
By Damian Avevor
