St. Anthony Shrine Dedicated at Sowutuom St. Paul’s Seminary
A new shrine dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua was officially blessed and inaugurated at St. Paul’s Catholic Seminary in Sowutuom following a closing Mass, serving as a memorial to the visit of His Eminence Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, OFM, Special Envoy of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.
In attendance was a distinguished gathering, including Cardinal Napier, Most Rev. Julien Kaboré, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), seminary formators led by Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Joseph Okine Quartey, Rector of St. Paul’s Catholic Seminary, seminarians, and church members.
The mass and dedication marked the end of Cardinal Napier’s visit to Ghana for the 75th anniversary celebrations of the ecclesiastical provinces of the former Gold Coast, including the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, and the Dioceses of Accra, Keta, Kumasi, and Tamale.
The shrine, featuring an image of St. Anthony holding the Child Jesus, served as a reminder of St. Anthony’s love for the humanity of Christ and his intimacy with God.
In his homily, Cardinal Napier urged seminarians to become an “evangelizing community” rooted in the Trinity and dedicated to transforming humanity. Delivering the homily at the closing Mass of his visit to Ghana, Cardinal Napier emphasized the importance of a community as the foundation of Church life.
He said, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When you are saying that, what are you saying? We are addressing God as a community. So that’s the first idea that we must work towards as a church, that we become a community. But it’s not just any kind of community, not a political community or whatever. It’s going to be a community that is based on the Trinity, a history of community.”
Cardinal Napier highlighted the Church’s mission as a “community serving humanity,” growing to be an “evangelizing community” that puts the Gospel first in evangelization.
“Your primary purpose is to bring the gospel into the community and evangelize. The gospel must be the driving force behind who you are and what you do, and then the community is serving humanity”, he stated.
Most Rev. Julien Kaboré, in his address, also urged the seminarians to be authentic during their priestly formation.
He said, “To be credible disciples and future priests, one must be a man of truth, without masks, without double lives,” quoting St. Clement: “We must then put away all duplicity.”
According to the Nuncio, seminaries serve as the foundation of the Church’s hierarchy, stating, “Without seminaries there would be no Catholic hierarchy.”
He warned that hypocrisy begins early and urged seminarians to embrace transparency and humility.
“… there’s always a moment of silence to look into our souls. Take time to have a short examination of conscience”, he added.
After the Mass, Cardinal Napier, joined by the Apostolic Nuncio and Bishop Gyamfi to bless the St. Anthony Shrine, which will serve as a place for prayers and veneration.
By: Veronica Sena Amenya
