Seven Young Men of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra have been ordained into the Order of Deacons with a call on them to be people of good repute and example to the people of God.

Very Rev. Fr. Ebenezer Akesseh, the Parish Priest of Christ the King Parish, Cantonment, Accra, in a homily at the St. Patrick Catholic Church at Atomic on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, prayed that the Deacons would be men of good character filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom.

Asking them to look into the future with an open spirit, he urged them to have a sense of belonging to the Archdiocese by sharing in its vision.

Be docile to the Holy Spirit to understand the true meaning of the vows of obedience, he told the newly ordained Deacons.

The ordained Deacons are Revs. Frederick Asante Owusu, St. John the Baptist, Odorkor; Michael N.A Owusu Amponsah, Christ the King, Cantonment; Toussaint Wadia Nianza, Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka; Victor Yaw Ampim, St. Joseph the Worker, Nii Boiman; Roland Rossamundi Kwupoli Kajelo, St. Benedict, Ofankor; Isaac Kofi Dunyo, St. Patrick, Atomic and Peter Oppong-Ampofo, Ss. Anne and Joachim, Teshie.

The January 21, 2025 ordination Mass was presided over by the Most Rev. Anthony Narh Asare, an Auxiliary Bishop of Accra and concelebrated by the Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra and the Most Rev. John Kobina Louis, an Auxiliary Bishop of Accra.

Also concelebrating were over 100 Priests from the Accra Archdiocese and beyond. In attendance were hundreds of Catholics and non-Catholics to witness the solemn diaconate ordination.

In his homily, Fr. Akesseh urged the newly ordained Deacons to prioritize wisdom since the success of their ministry would depend on how they apply wisdom to solve conflicts and afflictions among the people of God.

“You have to pray for wisdom, ” he admonished them, reminding them to be matured in the perfection of the Lord.

He advised them to “Guard against ambitions, wanting to have everything,” telling them ” If you want to be great, be ready to serve the people of God.”

Describing them as Jubilee Year Deacons as the Church marks the Jubilee Year 2025, Fr. Akesseh urged them to become true Pilgrims of Hope as the theme for the celebration connotes.

According to him, the new Deacons should see themselves as Pilgrims of Hope to help the people of God to find their hopes in the Lord.

A Deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three groups, or “orders,” of ordained ministers in the Church: Bishops, Presbyters (Priests) and Deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came “to serve and not to be served.”

The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the Deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church.

During the rites of ordination at the St. Patrick Parish on January 21, the candidates resolved to hold the mystery of faith with clear conscience, maintain and deepen the spirit of prayer and celebrate the Liturgy of Hours to the Church and the whole world.

The Parish Priests of the seven deacons vested them with the Stole and Dalmatic (outer garment) as the symbol of their office.

On his part, Archbishop Kwofie congratulated the deacons and thanked their families for offering their sons to serve in God’s ministry, and called for continuous support for them as they prepare to join the order of priests.

Present at the well-attended diaconate ordination were the Religious working in the Archdiocese, Seminarians, Papal Knights and Dames, members of the Christian Mothers Association and Sacred Heart Confraternity , families, relatives and friends of the newly ordained Deacons as well as the Accra Archdiocesan Catholic Laity Council.

By Damian Avevor