The newly ordained Bishop of Ghana’s Yendi Diocese, the Most Rev. Matthew Yitiereh, has expressed confidence in God as he takes over the mantle of leadership of the Diocese as its second Chief Shepherd.
“I have confidence in God who has never failed me in my previous assignments to guide me to stand up to the task” he said in his maiden speech after his Episcopal Ordination and Installation at the Roman Catholic Junior High School Park in Yendi on August 20, 2022.
Bishop Yitiereh was until his nomination as Bishop-elect on June 3, 2022, the Vicar General of Tamale Archdiocese. He succeeded Most Rev. Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, SVD., who proceeds on retirement after administering the Diocese for 23-years. Yendi Diocese was carved out of the Tamale Archdiocese and created on 16th March, 1999, by Pope Saint John Paul II.
Many Religious, Pastors, the Chief Imam of Yendi, members of the Forum of Papal Knights and Dames, members of the Yendi Peace Centre, and hundreds of the faithful from the Diocese and the Dioceses in the Tamale Ecclesiastical province and beyond, attended the Ordination Mass.
Notable among the dignitaries present was Mr. Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister for Defence and Member of Parliament of Bimbilla Constituency who represented the government of Ghana. The King and Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Abukari Mahama II, was represented by Mba Gbambali, Naa Adam Iddrisu and Mr. Alhassan Fatawu, Registrar of the Dagbon Traditional Council.
Bishop Yitiereh also expressed confidence in the qualities of the Priests, Religious Men and Women, as well as the Laity of the Diocese and, therefore, entreated them to harness their gifts, talents and professionalism to build and move the Diocese forward.
He called on Priests in particular to emulate the team spirit and spirit of unity exhibited by early missionaries, adding, “It is my hope and prayer that together we will tear down any existing barriers that separate those of different race, colour, tribe and even religion”.
The new Local Ordinary of Yendi expressed his appreciation to Pope Francis for his nomination as well as Peter Cardinal Turkson, the Apostolic Nuncio and members of the GCBC of their support and assurances since his nomination as Bishop-elect was announced.
He also thanked the Yaa Naa for accepting him as his son, promising to collaborate with him in governing all the people in his kingdom.
Similarly, he expressed gratitude to Archbishop Naameh for his instrumental role in his life and vocation and also Bishop Emeritus Boi-Nai, for accepting him and preparing him spiritually with a retreat, saying, “In you I have a counsellor and a consultor”.
The Ordination Mass was presided over by His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences who was also the Principal Consecrator of the new Bishop.
Sixteen Archbishops and Bishops, concelebrated the Mass with more than 60 Priests who included Vicars General, Superiors of Congregations, Seminary Rectors and Formators, among others.
The Most Reverends Philip Naameh, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale and President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) and Henryk Mieczyslaw Jagodzinski, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, were the Co-Consecrators.
The new Bishop after the Ordination Rite was presented with the Book of the Gospels and invested with a ring which is a sign of his fidelity to and nuptial bond with the Church his spouse, a mitre, which symbolises the resolve to pursue holiness and a crosier (pastoral staff), which symbolises his role as the Good Shepherd of the flock of his Diocese.
The Consecration team were joined by Most Rev. Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr., Cardinal-elect and Bishop of Wa Diocese to install Bishop Yitiereh, giving him canonical possession of the Diocese which currently has an estimated Catholic population of 31,400 with fourteen parishes and one Quasi-Parish.
Archbishop Naameh who was the homilist, disclosed that the first reading of the day was chosen by Bishop Yitiereh and explained that the rationale for his choice like Solomon when he was made a King, was to seek wisdom from the Lord and not wealth and other material benefits to enable him govern God’s people according to His wishes.
He applauded all missionary societies who carried out evangelisation work in the Yendi area namely, the Society of African Missions, the Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr.), and most especially the Divine Word Missionaries who took over missionary work from the M.Afr., and are still present, for making Catholicism more wide-spread which culminated in the creation of the Yendi Diocese.
He appealed to the Provincial Superior of the M. Afr. to re-establish their presence in Yendi after pulling out of the area in late 1950s due to lack of personnel.
The Archbishop noted that the Diocese has impacted positively on the lives of the people and he enumerated some of the achievements chalked especially in the education sector to buttress his point.
He said a total of 322 schools comprising basic schools (KGs to SHSs) and a College of Education with an overall enrolment of 60,143 pupils and students, have been built by the Church throughout the ten municipal and administrative Districts which constitute the Diocese.
He appealed to Municipal and District Directors of Education to appoint Catholics to head Catholic schools to put the Church in the position to instil moral discipline in the schools for which the Church is known for the benefit of all regardless of one’s faith.
He explained that the Church has a tradition of holistic education which does not only impact the minds of students but also builds their morality and the integral formation of pupils and students.
On behalf of the GCBC, the Archbishop appealed to the Priests and people of the Yendi Diocese to welcome the newly ordained Bishop. “We encourage you all to revere him as a Minister of Christ entrusted with the task of bearing witness to the truth of the gospel and with the ministry of spirit and justice”, he stated.
He reminded them also of the Words Christ spoke to His apostles, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me” (LK. 10:16).
Addressing Bishop Yitiereh, he reminded him that the title of Bishop is one of service and of witnessing to the truth of God especially concerning the inviolable dignity of the human person. In this regard, he spoke against cruelty and injustice meted out to old and poor women who are declared witches and banished from their homes to the so called witches’ camps five of which exist in the Diocese.
He urged all to refrain from labelling people as witches and finding reasons to banish them and making them responsible for any form of evil that affect society.
While wishing Bishop Emeritus Boi-Nai a peaceful retirement, he commended him for some notable achievements during his tenure especially the increase in number of Diocesan Priests.
He lauded him also for his peace loving nature and for his skills and zeal in inter-religious dialogue which according to him has contributed to create an environment of peace in the Diocese, adding that these achievements are fertile conditions on which the new Bishop will build on. He also wished Bishop Yitiereh a fruitful mission.
In a brief congratulatory message, Mr. Alhassan Fuseini who spoke on behalf of the Yaa Naa, noted that notwithstanding the fact that Bishop Boi-Nai is retiring, his relation with him will transcend his retirement. He expressed his appreciation to the Catholic Church for its work in Dagbon and called on Bishop Yitiereh to emulate his predecessor and continue to impact society.
He expressed optimism that the cordial relation that exist between the Church and the Gbewaa Palace will continue and entreated the new Bishop to consolidate the relationship.
Mr. Nitiwul in his message, noted that the Church and Government are partners in development. He commended the Catholic Church for her enormous contribution to national development and reiterated government’s readiness to dialogue with the Church on sensitive national issues.
He also entreated the Church to restore the spirit of humanness in the youth of our country today whom he lamented have lost their sense of empathy.
Without mentioning the National Cathedral by name he said, “I also want to plead with the Catholic Church that government has decided that it is time for the people of Ghana to have a place where all religious bodies can go and worship, particularly the Christian religion. We want to ask the Catholic Church to support this project”.
Other messages were by the Apostolic Nuncio and the GCBC in which they called for prayers and support for the new Bishop.
By Francis E. Monnie//Newswatchgh.com
