Thousands attend Ghana’s consecration ceremony

About two thousand people in one spirit and mind thronged the Holy Spirit Cathedral Saturday March 4, 2017 to witness the consecration ceremony of Ghana to the sacred heart of Jesus by the Catholic Church.

The act is to solemnly commit Ghana, her leaders, people and her entire wellbeing to the unfathomable love of Jesus Christ who himself is God’s greatest gift of love to mankind.

The consecration ceremony organized by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference brought together various religious groups to pray for a common goal. Present at the ceremony were the president of the republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, First Lady Her Excellency Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Speaker of Parliament, Right Honourable Prof. Mike Oquaye and leaders and representatives of other arms of government and government officials.

Also present were the Pope’s special envoy to Ghana for the 60th anniversary and re-consecration of Ghana to the sacred heart of Jesus and for the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ghana and the Holy See, His Eminence Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello together with the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, His Excellency Jean Marie Speich.

Speaking at the Ceremony, President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo urged Ghanaians to be hard-working and eschew corrupt practices in other to lift Ghana out of poverty.

“We face a great challenge as a Ghanaian people. The challenge of how to build our economy and state in conditions that will bring prosperity to our people and lift them out of poverty. We can only do so through hard-work, enterprise, creativity and with the determination to fight corruption in our public life. That is the path that will lead us to the transformation we desire,” the president said.

The president also expressed his appreciation to the Catholic Church for putting together an event that brings onboard all religious groups.

He said the act goes a long way to foster peace and unity among all persons irrespective of their religious backgrounds.

“Indeed, it is good to see all the various elements of our religious establishments. Christian and Moslem present at this solemn ceremony. It gives it a truly national character. It re-enforces an important aspect of our national life; harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence that exist between religions in our nation. We pray to the almighty that long may it continue.”

For his part, the Pope’s special envoy and one time apostolic nuncio to Ghana, His Eminence Cardinal Guiseppe Bertello lauded Ghana for the successes she has chalked as a nation and still allowing herself to be under the special grace of God. These he said is the inspiration behind the consecration of the country to the sacred heart of Jesus.



“I am thankful to the Lord for offering me this opportunity to return to Ghana for this very happy occasion after so many years since my time here as Apostolic Nuncio. It is very heartening to see the progress Ghana has made in these sixty years: the consolidation of its democratic institutions, the growth of diverse potentialities, the establishment of diplomatic relations with other nations, making it an important contributor for the preservation of peace in areas of conflict. For this reason the Bishops of Ghana were inspired to consecrate their country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Cardinal Guiseppe said.

Explaining the significance of the ceremony, Cardinal Guiseppe said it is a renewal of a spiritual submissiveness that occurred sixty years ago. He said, on March 3rd, 1957, a few days short of the proclamation of independence on March 6, the country was consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a consecration that was later repeated in the year 2007 on the Golden Jubilee of its birth as a nation.

These celebration, he said manifests the close bond between Ghana and the Sacred Heart of Jesus; a bond that is reinforced by the attention dedicated to its devotion in civic and social life.

Cardinal Guiseppe further explained that with the act of consecration, the full and exclusive lordship of God over Ghana is acknowledged. He said during the crucial moment, when Ghana, a newly independent nation was striving to grow in the path of responsibility and autonomy, she did not forget Christ; she turned to Him with humbleness to offer herself and beseech blessings from heaven.