While Ghanaians are celebrating the good news of the elevation of the Bishop of Wa as a Cardinal, the sad news hit the Catholic Church in the West African country of Ghana of the death of the Most Rev. Gregory Kpiebaya, Archbishop Emeritus of Ghana’s Tamale Archdiocese on May 31, 2022.
In his entire ministry as a Priest, Bishop and Archbishop, Most Rev. Kpiebaya has been an ardent preacher of the Word of God, which has touched his life very deeply.
In his book: “NOT BY POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT”, Archbishop Kpiebaya recounts his life journey as a “pagan boy,” called by Jesus Christ to be Christian, a Priest, a Bishop and an Archbishop in His Holy Church
In a statement issued and signed by the Most Rev. Philip Naameh, Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, the revered Archbishop Emeritus died at the Tamale teaching hospital.
“It is with deep sorrow that I announce to you the demise of Most Rev. Gregory E. Kpiebaya, Archbishop Emeritus of Tamale. This sad event happened in the early hours of this morning 31st May 2022 at the Tamale Teaching Hospital,” the statement said.
“I commend to your prayers the peaceful repose of his soul. The Funeral and burial arrangements will be announced later. With sentiments of esteem,” it added.
Upon hearing the sad news, many Ghanaians have been expressing condolences to the Clergy and people of God of the Tamale and the family of the late Archbishop.
“Our late Archbishop Emeritus of Tamale died peacefully on the day of Visitation of The Blessed Virgin Mary,” says Joshua Elikplim on Whatsapp.
According to him, “He was a prolific writer. Archbishop Kpiebaya was a columnist in the Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, Catholic Standard Newspaper and the Catholic Messenger, usually writing against the witch camps and other odd social and cultural practices in Ghana. GOD bless him and keep his soul.”
On his part, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obeng Cudjoe, Parish Priest of St. James Parish, Osu writes on Whatsapp, “Born in the year 1933, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wa on 8th September 1962. He was appointed a Bishop for the Diocese of Wa on the 18th of November, 1974, and subsequently ordained a Bishop on the 15th of March, 1975 by Bishop Peter Porekuu Dery, then Bishop of Tamale as the Principal Consecrator. The Principal Co-Consecrators were then Bishop Dominic Kodwo Andoh, Bishop of Accra, and Bishop Rudolph A. Akanlu, Bishop of Navrongo.”
He added: “Providentially, he was ordained a priest on the 8th of September which is the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary and died on the 31st of May, which is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
The late Archbishop Kpiebaya was born in 1933 at Nanvilli in the Nadowli District of the Upper West Region. The exact date of his birth is unknown. His Parents, Mr. Kpiebaya and Mrs. Namuna Kpiebaya practiced the African Traditional Religion (ATR). They had eight children: six boys and two girls. Gregory, the sixth born child was named Ebodong.
About the time of Archbishop Ebodong Kpiebaya’s birth, a second Parish in the Upper West (Jirapa being the first) was opened in Kaleo by the Catholic Missionaries, known as the White Fathers. The older sons of Kpiebaya became interested and got converted to Christianity.
On March 25, 1942, Ebodong was baptized with the name Gregory and confirmed on April 10, 1942 into the Catholic Church.
He was also enrolled at the St. Paul’s Primary school at Nandon, which was the only Catholic School in the area at the time. In 1947, Gregory went to Navrongo for his Senior School education and in 1951 entered the Minor Seminary, which was then at Wiagha. He started his philosophical and theological studies at St. Victors Major Seminary at Tamale in 1954 and was ordained priest on September 8, 1962 at the Immaculate Conception Church, Kaleo.
He became a curate at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Daffiama, from September 1962 to June 1963 and left for studies at the International Lumen Vitae Catechetical Institute in Brussels, Belgium. He continued with his studies at the Higher Catechetical Institute in Paris, France and obtained his Diploma in Religious Education and Pastoral Catechetics respectively from these institutions.
He returned to the Wa Diocese in 1965 and from April 1966, he became the Director of the Catechist Training Centre at Kaleo. Whilst there, he did a lot of translation of parts of the Holy Bible, including the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John as well as many liturgical texts into Dagaare, his native language.
In September 1971, he pursued a course in Pastoral Theology at the Catholic University of Louvain and obtained a Licentiate Degree in Theology (STL) from that university in 1973. On his return to Ghana, he was appointed to teach at the Pastoral and Social Institute of Wa, until his appointment as Bishop of Wa on November 18, 1974 by Pope Paul VI. He was subsequently ordained bishop on March 15, 1975.
After 20 years as Bishop of Wa, Gregory was appointed Archbishop of Tamale on March 26, 1994 to succeed Archbishop Peter Porekuu Dery who had retired from Office. Archbishop Kpiebaya was installed as Archbishop of tamale on November 6, 1994 and took canonical possession of the Archdiocese on same day.
Having attained the age of 75 in 2008, Archbishop Kpiebaya asked to be released from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Tamale in compliance with canon 401.1 of the Code of Canon Law. He was released from his pastoral office on February 12, 2009 by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
By Damian Avevor
