The Provincial Superior of the Society of African Missions (SMA) in Ghana also known as SMA Fathers, Very Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Paul Saa-Dade Ennin, SMA, says he is humbled by his election as the President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious, Ghana (CMSR-G).
“I’m humbled! I never expected the overwhelming trust and support. Really felt humbled by this expression of confidence, he told Newswatcgh.com after his election on October 13, 2022 during the bi-annual Meeting of the Conference in Koforidua.
Fr. Ennin was elected together with Sr. Francisca Damoah, SIJ as the new Vice President of the Conference, Sr. Christina Doggu, HHCJ, the Financial Secretary; Friar Vitus Edem Yao Mensah, OFM Conventual as Councillor for the Conference and Sr. Theodora Adzayawo, SMMC as the appointed Executive Secretary.
“I pray that with the support of the new executive members we can deliver on this expression of trust in us,” Fr. Ennin stated, adding that “It is also a call to service by the Lord through the superiors.
He noted that his election “is a challenging task but I believe that His grace will be sufficient for us so that our service will bear fruits, fruits that endure.”
Sharing his prioritised areas with Newswatchgh.com, Fr. Ennin, said as a Catholic Missionary group, their first duty was to bear witness to Jesus Christ, crucified for the salvation of the world.
“Our number one priority is to seek new ways of announcing the Good News of Christ, in partnership with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in response to the signs of the times,” he indicated.
He said the new administration would among other things, continue and consolidate the work of their predecessors in the area of institutional growth and capacity building to equip the Conference and member congregations to enable them accomplish even more for Christ and the communities they work in.
“Our members are doing tremendous work all over Ghana in remote villages transforming lives and bring integral development to communities. They do this most often in total discretion and silence. We want to bring these works to the fore of society,” he said.
He promised to make the Conference and the activities of its members more visible in the Ghanaian society in line with the invitation of the Apostolic Nuncio.
He said efforts would be made “to live our prophetic vocation by strengthening our networking capabilities and creating platforms with other stakeholders and persons of goodwill, civil society and other religious groups in addressing critical national issues like the destruction of the environment, corruption.”
Fr. Ennin was ordained on July 18, 1998 in Accra by Archbishop Dominic Andoh. He worked as a missionary in then Bauchi Vicariate, Nigeria as Assistant Priest, St. Mary’s Parish, Tafawa Balewa, Cathedral Administrator, St. John’s Bauchi, Diocesan Director JPIC, Bauchi, and Regional Councillor, SMA Region Nigeria-North.
He later went to the Pontifical Gregorian University to study Canon Law. Between 2004 and 2007, he was the Director of studies at the SMA International Formation House, Ibadan and Lecturer at SS Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Ibadan, Nigeria.
In 2007, he was elected to the SMA General Council in Rome and in 2010 he became the Vicar General of the Society. After a sabbatical year in 2013, he was appointed the Rector of the Catholic Missionary Institute in Abidjan (ICMA), a position he held until 2020 when he was elected the Provincial Superior, Ghana.
He is also the founder of the Centre for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons (CPM-PV) in Abidjan. Fr. Ennin holds a B.A in Philosophy, (UI, Ibadan), B.Th in Theology (UCAO, Abidjan), M.Phil in African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon and a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Gregorian University, Rome.
By Damian Avevor and Robert Mawuenyegah
