Tamale, Oct 31, GNA – Hundreds of Catholic faithful from various parishes in the Tamale Archdiocese and beyond have celebrated a mass to climax the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of Our Lady of Annunciation (OLA) Catholic Cathedral Parish in Tamale.
The event, which was on the theme: “For we walk by faith not by sight”, was also graced by Bishops of Yendi and Damongo Dioceses, scores of Priests including; Vicar General, Seminary Rectors, superiors of religious congregations, and some members of the Forum of Papal Knights and Dames, Ghana.
The 75th Anniversary of the OLA Catholic Cathedral Parish was launched in 2017 where the Church held yearly celebrations characterised by prayers, meditations, retreats, seminars, charity works, celebrating the family; memorable talk on family life and marriage amongst others before the climax in Tamale on Saturday.
Even though some Catholics were already worshipping in Tamale, it was in September, 1946 when a Resident Priest, posted to Tamale, celebrated the first Sunday of the Tamale Mission at the small church of St Patrick. It was then that plans began to build a bigger church, which gave birth to the present place of worship; OLA Catholic Cathedral Parish, the oldest church to be established in Tamale.
During the mass to climax the celebrations, four Catholics namely; Madam Cecilia Asobayire, Mr Philip Afulang, Mr Alfred Ndago and Mr Clement Akatame from the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, and Madam Gabriela Doris Wumnaya from the Damongo Diocese were conferred with Papal Awards, the Order of St. Gregory, for their dedicated work to the Catholic Church in the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province of the Catholic Church.
The Papal Awardees were presented with certificates by Most Reverend Philip Naameh, Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, who was assisted by Sir Benedict Assorow, Secretary of the Forum of Papal Knights and Dames, Ghana, and some members of the Forum to decorate them with their appropriate medals.
A total of 45 parishioners were also awarded citations for their dedicated services to the OLA Catholic Cathedral Parish over the years.
In a sermon, Archbishop Naameh admonished Christians to let their actions be inspired by God saying “we must be listeners to the word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to what the Lord may want us to do” to transform their lives.
He said “We are exalted to continue to place ourselves in the process of discernment and listen every day to what God may be telling us as His word. As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary, the Lord is opening our minds and our hearts towards an ongoing discernment of the will of God in our lives.”
Mr Ndago, who spoke on behalf of the Papal Awardees, expressed gratitude to the Church for the honour saying “We are humbled by this recognition.”
He said the recognition meant that they had a great responsibility calling for prayers to enable them to continue to lead to be effective in their parishes and dioceses.
Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku, Northern Regional Coordinating Director, who represented the Regional Minister, commended the Catholic Church for her enormous contributions to the development of the country through the provision of schools, health facilities, peacebuilding initiatives and assisting victims of the flood disaster that hit Tamale in 1989.
Meanwhile, a sod was cut to construct a two-story building, which would be a commercial facility to be located along the Hospital Road in Tamale, as a memorable anniversary project.
GNA