Rev. Fr. Bernard Kwabena Amfo, one-time altar server at Santa Barbara Catholic Church, Akosombo in the Eastern Region of Ghana and Sacristan at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra, Ghana, has celebrated his first Thanksgiving Mass as a Priest for the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom in Ghana’s Eastern Region, ordained on October 26, 2024 by the Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, Apostolic Vicar.
In a homily during the October 27, 2024 Thanksgiving Mass at the St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church, Samahyia, Rev. Fr. Charles Ahenkorah, Parish Priest of St. Paul Parish, Kibi, in Koforidua Diocese, and one time Parish Priest of Santa Barbara Catholic Church, Akosombo, expressed profound joy at the fact that he was witnessing the Thanksgiving Mass of his ‘altar boy’.
“This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad. Today is a very unique day for me because 24 years ago, I had a young man as a mass boy, and if you find me here today, it is just that I am here to join my mass boy who is now a catholic priest. We praise the Lord for that,” the priest acclaimed.
Reflecting on the Gospel passage for the day (Mk. 10:46-52), where the blind Bartimaeus asked Jesus to let him see again, Fr. Ahenkorah charged the newly ordained to take it as his main duty to bring light to the darkened world, full of lies and deceit.
“In our world today, we are blind to all the good things. We don’t speak the truth. You need to have the courage to open the eyes of people to the truth,” he said, adding that he needs not be afraid, for, the Lord Himself will give him the words to speak to His people.
“The youths should see hope in you. And you can only do this when you are a man of prayer,” the priest emphasized.
Drawing further inspiration from the Book of Wisdom, the homilist urged Fr. Amfo to set his mind on doing the will of God and every other thing will be given him, highlighting that “the most important thing is the Word of God, because if you have God, you have everything”.
He further encouraged the new priest to gain consolation from the ‘beautiful’ response of Jesus to Peter in Mark 10:28-30, that anyone who has left everything to follow Christ will be rewarded a hundredfold.
“Always let this be your prayer: Lord speak, your servant is listening, and I can tell you, you will not lack anything. God knows why he sent you here. God who has started well with you will end well with you,” the priest endeared.
The Akosombo-born newly ordained was highly encouraged to maintain the ‘unique’ relationship that exists between him and his Parish priest, and wherever he may find himself, maintaining the fact that “in every institution, there are rules and regulations”.
He was further urged to take advantage of his ‘uniqueness’ as a person and the office of the ‘revered’ priesthood to bring comfort to the people of God.
In an interview with the writer, Bright Quansah, a young altar server at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra, who had encountered Fr. Amfo while he was working as Sacristan at the same Cathedral before he got his priestly call had this to say about the newly ordained:
“It was indeed a shocking and sad moment for me when I heard that he was no longer a sacristan at Holy Spirit Cathedral, and that he was leaving the place altogether. I asked myself ‘but why’? Does it mean that he couldn’t see the very good works and sacrifices he was making for the Church and even for me in particular?
The young man confessed that his being at the Cathedral was mainly because of how generous and kind ‘brother Bernard’ was towards him, adding that “there was not a single day I missed out masses due to his presence, and I believe that zeal with which he carried out his job had an impact on me”.
His prayer and sort of ‘punishment’ for ‘brother Ben’, now Fr. Bernard, for not telling him he was leaving the Cathedral, is that “he will continue to remain an ordained sacristan and still celebrate Masses for the Cathedral”.
According to Quansah, Fr. Bernard is a very funny, yet serious person, and for him, the latter has “chosen a right course and I shall continue to steal from him some life lessons. I pray that the day of his Ordination will forever be the greatest and glorious day and a day of wondrous joy in his lifetime. Rev. Fr. Bernard Amfo, I love and I truly appreciate you big bro”.
The young altar server also prayed that Mass servers all over the world truly understand the selfless sacrifices and services they render, a task they have taken upon themselves to fulfil without demanding anything in return, adding that he nearly stopped being a mass server were it not for the timely intervention and ‘kind gestures’ of ‘Brother’ Bernard.
“I’ve finally got to call him “Father” without him saying hey! hey! my friend,” the young lad boasted.
Other activities featured during the Thanksgiving, included a dancing procession with the newly ordained across the village, accompanied by jazz and brass ban, aimed at creating awareness of the event. Others were fundraising to support the celebration, cultural display by the parish youths and a symbolic presentation of a bouquet of flowers to Our Lady’s Statue by the celebrant, as a sign of his devotion to her holy patronage.
Present at the Thanksgiving Mass were the classmates of Fr. Amfo: Fr. Augustine Agbanga and Ernest Nabonaasongo from Navrongo-Bolgatanga, Fr. Solomon Bezen Lieber from Wa Diocese and Fr. Rutilos Nyong Logyaa, from Damongo.
Others were Sr. Mary Stella Darkoah Yehoah, HDR from Akosombo, working in the Vicariate, and Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, Rev. Fr. Bernard Adjei Appiah, SVD, Rev. Fr. James Sedem Wormenor, SVD, Bro. Samuel Dagadu, SVD, all from the Vicariate, who joined the celebration after Mass.
Also present were Mrs. Grace Adiepena, aspiring independent MP for Afram Plains South, family members, friends and well-wishers of Fr. Amfo, the Youth Choir and other parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Donkorkrom, a delegation from Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra and Santa Barbara Catholic Church, Akosombo, representatives from places where Fr. Amfo, over the years, had been for Pastorals and the parish community of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Samanhyia, among others.
Joining the Psalmist to proclaim “The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy,” Rev. Fr. Bernard Amfo expressed profound gratitude to God who had brought him thus far, his parents of Blessed memory, family members, friends, the Bishop, formators, his past and present Parish Priests, and all who in one way or the other have supported him to answer the Divine Call, and prayed that God may bless each and everyone of them according to their needs.
Speaking with Rev. Fr. Coleman Aloysius Akrereke, CSSp, Parish Priest of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Samanhyia, he was full of gratitude to God that their ‘son’ has been ordained.
According to him, Fr. Amfo is not originally from Samanhyia, but he was handed to the parish when he applied as a seminarian to join the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom. And having experienced him all this while, the Parish Priest could attest that the newly ordained is “very obedient, respectful, eats whatever is served, and went to out stations with me whenever he was home on vacation”.
“He has become our son. We are all very happy and proud of him,” Fr. Coleman declared.
The Spiritan priest prayed that the youths in the Parish may follow the example of Fr. Bernard and that some may answer the call to become priests and religious.
The Thanksgiving Masses of the other three newly ordained priests were going on simultaneously at the St. Fidelis Parish Tease, for Rev. Frs. Mathew Akakpo and Otmar Auinger, and St. Cecilia Parish, Fori Fori for Fr. Gabriel Dabo-Gyamfi.
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Samanhyia, is one of the 8 Parishes in the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom. The Church started in 1974 in a Christian’s house, until they were able to put up the present Church building, which is now very old and small to accommodate the faithful. The Church was made a Parish in 2011. It has 10 Mission stations in all, managed by1 priest (Spiritan).
Life in the Parish, just like in the whole of Afram Plains is not easy, due to poverty. The Parish is financially weak mainly because of the absence of civil servants in residence, on account of the depravity of the area.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate)
