Eleven Sisters of Mary Immaculate Congregation have marked their golden and silver jubilees respectively with a thanksgiving Mass at the Mother House of the Congregation, Daffiama in the Upper West Region.
The Mass was presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, the Most Philip Naameh whose biological sister was among the jubilarians.
The event which took place on February 3, the Founder’s Day of the Congregation was attended by about sixty priests all over the Tamale Province as well as priests from Diebougou Diocese in Burkina Faso who accompanied their bishop the Most Rev. Kusiele Dabire Der Raphael.
Among the dignitaries present were Men and Women Religious from four different Religious Congregations, families of the eleven sisters, traditional leaders, parishioners from both home and place of work of the eleven sisters, friends and well-wishers of the congregation.
Very Rev. Fr. Benjamin Firtir who represented the Diocesan Administrator of the Wa Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Edward Tengan, said just as the one leper in the Gospel came back to give thanks to God having that he was healed, the Sister-jubilarians were also on the right path by calling all to join them give thanks to God for his protection in these number of years.
Touching on the theme of the celebration “The Lord has done great things for me, Holy is his name, the Administrator exhorted the Sisters to appreciate the fact that God had truly done great things for them.
He added that they had been called with many gifts and from different cultural backgrounds, praising the jubilarians for living out their promise in twenty-five- and fifty-years of serving God in the different capacities.
He pointed out that through their services, many lives had been touched and he encouraged them not to relent with the mindset that they were advanced in age but rather try harder in the little they could still do and let the younger ones find joy and hope in their lives as senior Sisters.
The Superior General of the SMI Congregation, Sr. Christiana Pogbeyir called on all to join in prayer for the Founder of the Congregation, Bishop Oscar Morin, Missionary of Africa.
One of the jubilarians, Sr. Mary Rose Laane expressed appreciation for the massive turn out in honour of them and asked for God’s blessings upon all and sundry.
By Sr. Juliana Atuuna, SMI
