A vibrant Accra parish that was born in a school compound eight decades ago celebrated its 80th anniversary on Sunday, June 7, 2026, with a solemn Mass that drew together two of the Catholic Church’s most powerful solemnities — the Feast of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda and the Solemnity of Corpus Christi — in what the presiding homilist described as a profound convergence of martyrdom and Eucharist.
His Excellency Julien Kaboré, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, was the Special Guest and principal celebrant at the jubilee Mass held at the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church (MUCC), Mamprobi, Accra. Concelebrating with him were Rev. Fr. Edmund Donkor-Baine, Parish Priest, and a number of other priests. The theme chosen for the occasion 80 Years of Light: Guiding Our Path with Faith, Hope and Love — set the tone for a celebration that was at once a thanksgiving for the past and a challenge for the future.
In a wide-ranging homily that held the congregation in sustained attention, Archbishop Kaboré traced the parish’s origins to 1946, when a small Catholic community first gathered at St. Mary’s Catholic Girls’ Basic School in Korle Gonno. “What began as a humble seed,” he said, “has grown into a vibrant parish family, enriched by generations of faithful Catholics who have handed on the faith with conviction and love.”
Two Mysteries, One Source
At the heart of the Nuncio’s homily was a striking theological reflection on the deep unity between the feast of the Uganda Martyrs and the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. “These are not two separate celebrations placed side by side,” Archbishop Kaboré told the congregation. “Rather, they illuminate one another and find their deepest unity in Jesus Christ.”
He observed that the martyrs drew their courage not from their own determination but from their intimate union with Christ, the same Christ who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist. “The martyrs lead us to Christ,” he said, “and the Eucharist gives us Christ.”
He recounted with evident emotion the history of the Uganda Martyrs — the young men, many still in their teens, who between 1885 and 1887 chose death rather than deny their faith. Among them were St. Joseph Mkasa, St. Charles Lwanga and St. Kizito. Pope Paul VI canonised 22 of them in 1964, describing their witness as a page “both tragic and magnificent,” and linking them to the great African martyrs of antiquity — Cyprian, Perpetua, Felicity and Augustine.
“Holiness is possible,” the Nuncio declared emphatically. “Holiness is possible in Africa. Holiness is possible in our own times. And holiness is possible for the young.”
A Call for Christian Unity
In a passage that drew particular attention, Archbishop Kaboré made a pointed appeal for Christian unity, invoking the concept of the “ecumenism of blood” cited by recent Popes. He noted that when Pope Paul VI canonised the Uganda Martyrs, he expressly remembered the Anglican martyrs who had also died for Christ, observing that “their persecutors did not ask whether they were Catholic or Anglican — they saw only disciples of Christ.”
Addressing the situation in Ghana, the Nuncio extended his “sincere esteem and fraternal affection” to Anglican brothers and sisters and to all Christian communities in the country.
“The challenges confronting our society are too serious for Christians to walk separately,” he said, calling on all followers of Christ to speak with a united voice on threats to human dignity, the pressures on marriage and family, corruption, the cries of the poor, and the search by young people for direction and hope. “The prayer of Jesus remains as urgent today as it was on the night before His Passion: ‘That they may all be one, so that the world may believe.’”
Three Resolutions for the Future
Turning to the younger generation in the congregation, the Nuncio offered three resolutions to carry the parish into the next eight decades: to remain firmly rooted in faith and unashamed of Christ; to become “pilgrims of hope” in a world marked by anxiety and division; and to let love become visible through concrete acts of charity towards the poor, the sick, the elderly, the lonely and the forgotten.
“Faith, hope and love,” he said. “These are the lights that have guided this parish for eighty years. These are the lights that must guide its future.”
He ended by entrusting the parish to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Martyrs and Mother of the Church, asking her intercession for its priests, families and young people.
The jubilee Mass was attended by members of the Parish Pastoral Council, religious men and women, parish organisations and a large gathering of the faithful from Mamprobi, Korle Gonno, Chorkor and surrounding communities.
