Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church holds carnival

The Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church on Saturday held a carnival in Accra as part of activities marking its 120th anniversary.

The carnival involved brass band music provided by Ghana National Fire Service Band and cultural performances by a number of ethnic groups across the nation.

The anniversary on the theme: “120 years of Catholic Mission: Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Building the Future,” begun on December 2, would be climax on November 24, 2013.

Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, Catholic Archbishop of Accra said he was very happy to be part of the celebration.

“I thank you all for coming and I ask God’s blessings for you. This shows we are one holy apostolic church even though we are all from different cultural backgrounds in this world,” he said.

The Very Reverend Father Francis Adoboli, Vicar General and Chairman of the Accra Archdiocesan Implementation Committee, urged the congregants to have fun and to enjoy themselves.

The Accra Archdiocese was started by Rev Fathers Otoo Hilberer and Eugene Raes of the Society of African Mission (SMA) on January 31, 1893 during the first mass.

Unfortunately Rev Fr Hilberer and Rev Fr Raes died soon after due to tropical illness.This the Accra Mission without a pastor.

For a long time, the Catholic Community in Accra was left in the hands of a lay Church Committee identified as Mr Brown, Mr Andoh, Mr Yankah and others until 1924 when Rev Fr Joseph Stauffer was posted to Accra.

He purchased an old cocoa shed situated on the Derby Avenue, which later became the Sacred Heart Catholic Mission, the premier church and parish of Accra.