Holy Child Schools mark 75 years of existence, organises virtual activities

As the Holy Child School at Cape Coast and the Holy Child College at Takoradi simultaneously mark 75 years of existence on March 5, 2021, the National Union of Holy Child Past Students Association (NUHOPSA) in collaboration with the two institutions in view of concerns of Coronavirus, has put in place virtual activities to celebrate the diamond jubilee.

“Notwithstanding, various virtual activities are being organised all over the world. Please log into any one of them and join in the celebrations, a statement by Mrs. Asor Anyimadu-Antwi, President of the NUHOPSA said.

The statement on behalf of the Association congratulated the current and previous leadership, present and past teaching and non-teaching staff, the Founding Sisters and to all HOPSANs.

“You have all contributed to the growth of the School and College in diverse ways. Let us keep the torch burning and may the Holy Child Jesus continue to turn our toils of every day to gold. ACTIONS NOT WORDS,” the statement added.

The School which was founded on March 5, 1946, by Venerable Cornelia Cornelly and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus was born out of a method of education based on trust and reverence for the dignity of every human being.

This vision, according to history, is what characterises Holy Child School and College as well make them unique institutions.

The schools aim at providing young girls with the type of education that will enable them make full use of their natural gifts and talents. At 75, the Holy Child School and College boast of thousands of ladies of substance who can be found in every aspect of the Ghanaian society and the world at large.

About Venerable Cornelia Cornelly

Connelly, who was born in Philadelphia in 1809, died in 1879 in the English town of St. Leonards-on-Sea, where she founded a school.

The mother of five, convert, and founder of a Religious Congregation was buried in the Convent Cemetery in Mayfield, East Sussex. But her body was moved in 1935 to the chapel of Mayfield School, which she established in 1872.

Her Order hoped to transfer her remains to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia. An announcement about the move was still visible on the Cathedral’s website on the morning of Feb. 25 but was later removed.

The proposal encountered fierce opposition when the Order applied to the Southern Historic Churches Committee for permission to extract Connelly’s coffin before returning it through an opening made in the side wall of the 14th-century chapel below ground level.

The Tablet, a British Catholic weekly, reported on Feb. 19 that the committee had received 120 objections to the plan. A petition against the exhumation gained more than 1,400 supporters.

The Order initially defended the proposal, saying that Connelly’s remains would “provide an important focus for veneration” at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul ahead of potential developments in her canonization cause.

According to a biography on the Order’s website, Connelly was born into an affluent family and raised as a Presbyterian. After she was orphaned at the age of 14, she was baptized in the Episcopal Church and married a clergyman, the Rev. Pierce Connelly.

The marriage was reportedly happy, although one of their five children died at the age of six weeks and another died at the age of two after being knocked into a vat of boiling sugar by a dog.

Both she and her husband converted to Catholicism. Pierce Connelly believed that he had a vocation to the Catholic priesthood. In 1845, she took a vow of perpetual chastity, enabling her husband to train for the priesthood, after he refused to heed her requests to reconsider.

She then began to explore a vocation to religious life, desiring to found an Order called the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. Pope Gregory XVI asked her to establish the foundation in England, which was undergoing a Catholic revival after centuries of persecution. She founded the Order in 1846.

She became involved in a painful dispute with her husband, who demanded that she return to him. In 1849, he filed suit in a British court. The case, which was highly publicized, was finally dismissed in 1858.

In 1862, six sisters from England brought the Society to the United States. Today the Order is present in North America, Latin America, Africa, and Europe.

The first steps to open Connelly’s canonization cause took place in 1953. Pope John Paul II declared her “Venerable” in 1992, recognizing that her life was marked by heroic virtue.

About the Society of the Holy Child Jesus

The Society of the Holy Child Jesus, founded both the Holy Child School at Cape Coast and College of Education at Takoradi. As a result of the increasing number of Colleges in Ghana, the College was moved to Takoradi in 1955

The Society of the Holy Child Jesus is an international congregation of religious women in the Catholic Church. Inspired by the vision and spirit of Cornelia, today’s members are alert to the needs of the twenty-first century and continue to reach out in service to others just as she did.

The Society spans four continents, where we live our mission to rejoice in God’s presence and to help people believe that God lives and acts in them and in our world.

It works collaboratively with others in educational, spiritual, pastoral, social and healthcare ministries.

Wherever it finds itself and whatever the ministry, the Congregation helps people develop their gifts and talents so that they can lead meaningful lives and make a difference in the world.

The shared lives of members of the Congregation and their personal relationships with God inspire individual and corporate actions toward a more just, compassionate and harmonious world.