As Msgr. Matthew Yitiereh, the newly appointed Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Yendi prepares for his episcopal ordination and installation on August 20 at the Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in Yendi, he says he felt trepidations when the news was announced to him.
“I must confess that I was consulted by the Chargé d’ Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature, Rev. Msgr. Maher Chammas, when the green light was given for my appointment by the Pope and together we fixed the date for the announcement of my appointment as Bishop-elect of Yendi diocese,” he said.
“This prior knowledge helped me tremendously to accommodate the announcement. Simply put, I had a feeling of trepidation, that is, of fear, alarm, worry, Bishop-Elect Yitiereh told newswatchgh.com correspondent in an interview at his Office in Tamale on June 9.
On June 3, 2022, Pope Francis appointed the Vicar General of Tamale Archdiocese, Very Rev . Fr. Yitiereh (now Rev. Msgr.) as the Bishop-elect of Yendi Diocese. The announcement of his appointment was made simultaneously at the Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in Yendi by the Chargé d’ Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature, Rev. Msgr. Maher Chammas and at the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) in Accra by Very Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee, the Secretary General.
Bishop-Elect Yitiereh takes over from Most Rev. Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, SVD, as the second Bishop of the diocese which was erected on March 16, 1999, having been carved out of the Tamale Archdiocese.
Touching on his priority areas in an interview with Francis E. Monnie , the Bishop-Elect was emphatic that “I am not really eager to know about the priority areas of the diocese until I take over. Then when I know the pastoral situation of the diocese, together with all concerned in the pastoral ministry, we will now see which tangent to go. The felt needs, the immediate and future ones, so that we will be able to address them.”
He added, “Together with the pastors and other pastoral agents who are already working there, we would map out these areas and begin to address them.”
According to Bishop-Elect Yitiereh, “The diocese is a family and from where Pope Francis is coming, the diocese should walk together, be together, journey together, iron out whatever our differences are and forge ahead together.”
The Church, he stated “as a human family can’t have it perfectly. Let’s have the joys and let’s iron out what are the differences blocking our ways of being true witnesses of the Risen Lord, because that is what we are called to be.”
He asserted that “My words of encouragement to the people of Yendi Diocese would be, let’s not be discouraged by any difficulties, difficulties are part and parcel of this journey that we are all called to embrace, and if we hold hands and walk together, we can go far and be able to surmount these difficulties.”
He was optimistic that when ordained and installed, he would like to leave behind a more united family, which is prone to more growth, saying “Yendi diocese having been erected 23-yers ago, has seen some growth.”
Pointing out, he said “looking at the expansion in the diocese, the outstations, new parishes, arrival of new congregations, ordination of diocesan priests, there are more hands in the vineyard. I hope to see more expansion of the diocese by the time I leave office.”
By Francis E. Monnie//Newswatchgh.com
