According to the prelate, when he was first sent as the Prefect Apostolic, there was only a small Church that did not have the capacity to accommodate all the Christians for Sunday Masses because of the numbers, so the Masses were celebrated in the meantime at Alphonse Merten’s Centre Hall, while the construction of the present Cathedral was going on.
Bishop Kumordji revealed that the meagre sum of 1 GHC was levied on each of the Parishioners, who paid generously, and with their prayerful support, the Church got to the roofing stage. He further disclosed that the names of all the Christians who made these initial contributions to the Cathedral project were inscribed on one of the Cathedral walls to date.
The Bishop rendered immense gratitude to Sir John Klu, a Knight, Legal Practitioner and son of the soil, residing in Accra, who had contributed almost the whole amount for the roofing of the Cathedral. Sir Klu, who happened to have been present at the Thanksgiving Mass, had dedicated all the donations he got from his 70th Birthday celebration in Accra for this worthwhile venture.
He had also helped raise funds in Accra for the completion and upgrading of the Cathedral Sacristies, the construction of the platform for the Bishop’s Cathedra (Chair), repainting of the Cathedral walls, amongst other works, before the Installation ceremony.
Lauding the efforts of the benefactors and the Church of Donkorkrom for having attained the mature stage of a Diocese, the Bishop challenged the faithful to take full responsibility over the growth of their Church, and be confident that God, who had been with them from the very beginning, when they had nothing, will see them through.
“You are mature. Your Church is strong. Your Church can build itself. If we came with nothing, and we were able to build this Church, why not you,” he encouraged.
Drawing inspiration from the First Reading of the day (1Kings 19:9, 11-13) speaking about God being present in simple and calm situations, symbolized by the “gentle breeze” the homilist posited that God has been with the Church of Donkorkrom from its very simple and humble beginnings, supporting them in various ways through generous benefactors and other people of good will, and brought them to the present stage, and will continue to sustain them. They only have to keep cooperating with the Will of God and supporting the local Bishop and the Church in its growth.
The Divine manifestation was made even more laudable when the then Prefect Apostolic revealed that the present Bishop of Donkorkrom, Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, then Fr. Asiedu, in the early beginnings, had been assigned the task of acquiring a piece of land for the Prefecture at Asikasu – Donkorkrom, where the Holy Rosary Sisters Convent and the yet-to-be completed Catholic Secretariat now stands, and that he had also accompanied the Prefect to look for an accommodation for him, as well as an office space at the Alphonse Merten’s Centre. Little was it known that Fr. Asiedu would end up working in Donkorkrom, and become the First Diocesan Bishop.
Bishop Kumordji made further allusion to the experience of Jesus meeting his frightened disciples on the Lake and calming their fears (Matthew 14:22-33), and entreated the faithful to not be afraid of the challenges that are sure to come, with the responsibility of becoming a Diocese, and not think themselves unfit to have attained this stage, since it has been a journey of nearly 20 years ago: being a Prefecture for 3 years, and then an Apostolic Vicariate until recently when it was elevated to a Diocese. Rather, they must always lean on the Lord for support, and He will not let them down.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Diocese)
