St. Charles Lwanga Parish at Saboba in the Yendi Diocese recently climaxed its 60th anniversary with a Thanksgiving Mass attended by the faithful, the Religious, representatives of Local Council of Churches and other guests.
The anniversary which coincided with the Solemnity of Pentecost, was on the theme: The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us, And We Are Filled With Joy.
The Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Yitiereh, presided over the Mass, concelebrated by Very Rev. Frs. Cyprian Kuupol SVD., the Ghana-Liberia Provincial Superior of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), Fred Timp, SVD., a former Parish Priest, and Francis Joseph Naduviledathu, SVD., the current Parish Priest, among others.
In a homily, Bishop Yitiereh likened the Parish to the Biblical mustard seed and said from its humble beginnings, it has borne much fruit and grown with many outstations. He paid tribute to the early missionaries who laid the foundations and also acknowledged the contributions of individuals, including the Religious and the indigenes, especially Catechists, who collaborated with the missionaries in their endeavours.
He said 60 years after its foundation, the parish has witnessed progress in the faith of the people and also Vocations. He cited Rev. Frs. Francis Baakilatob and Peter Taana as well as Rev. Fr. James Yamba and Sr. Janet Tadimili Kordoh FMM, who were present as tangible examples, and entreated the faithful to pray for more Vocations.
The Bishop urged all to keep the faith and pass it on to the next generation until the second coming of Christ. “I call on all of you, Priests, Religious, Catechists, all the Laity; please keep this faith alive and pass it on to the unborn generation to come. Let us keep up the good works of evangelisation until Christ comes to gather all of us to the heavenly Father”, he urged.
The Parish earlier observed its Patron Feast Day with a Mass celebrated by the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese, Most Rev. Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, SVD., as a prelude to the climax during which the Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, Mr. John Liyab also lauded the early missionaries and the faithful for their unwavering dedication, sacrifice, and love for the Church. A total of 22 people made up of 21 lay persons including Mr. Roger Mayen a former Catechist and Br. Andrzej Kedziora, SVD, were awarded citations for their diverse contributions to the Parish.
The activities organised to celebrate the milestone included a retreat and recollection, community outreach and charity works, vocations and youth day, family and marriage day and a float through the streets of Saboba to herald the climax.
In 1958, the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) led by Fr. John McNulty began exploratory missionary work in Saboba. The SVDs later took over from them and established the then Saboba outstation as a parish in 1965 with Fr. Joseph Connolly, SVD., as the first Parish Priest. The St. Lwanga Parish currently has 14 outstations with a Catholic population of about 4,000.
From Francis E. Monnie, Camp-G
