Sacred Heart Cathedral launches centenary celebration
The Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish in Bolgatanga has launched its centenary celebration with a call on the leadership of the Catholic Church to tackle the dwindling membership of the church.
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The Catholic Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese in the Upper East Region, Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta, who made the call, said the declining catholic population in Ghana was very worrying and needed to be addressed, going forward.
He noted that based on the outcome of the previous Population and Housing Census, the catholic population which initially stood at 15 per cent out of the entire Ghanaian population, had decreased to 12 per cent in the subsequent one.
Bishop Agyenta, who was delivering a sermon at the launch of the centenary celebration last Sunday, stressed that the recent census undertaken in 2021 further revealed a decrease in the membership of the church to 10 per cent.
He noted that the current trend was very frightening as the figure showed that the catholic church was losing its members to other churches, saying: “That notwithstanding, the catholic church continues to expand to other parts within the diocese”.
Centenary launch
The celebration was on the theme “Celebrating 100 years of walking together as a family of God”, and would be climaxed on June 28, 2025. Touching on the theme, the Diocesan Bishop said “it is important for the clergy and the members to listen to each other for their mutual benefit”.
While calling on the various societies within the parish to collaborate towards the betterment of the church, he entreated them to do away with unhealthy competition, as it would stifle the church’s growth.
Bishop Agyenta noted that the 100 years’ existence of the parish was worth celebrating, as it had made meaningful contributions to the physical and spiritual growth of the members, as well as the general progress of the society.
Therefore, he commended the past and present leadership of the church, including members of the congregation, for their tireless contributions towards sustaining the church to benefit the present and future generations.
Milestone
The Vice Chairman of the Centenary Planning Committee, Dr David Azupogo, also underscored the importance of celebrating the milestone chalked by the church and further urged the members to religiously make financial contributions towards it.
He said all funds raised during the celebration will be channelled towards roofing the new church building. The Sacred Heart Parish, in its 100 years of existence, has birthed seven new parishes namely Our Lady Queen of Africa (OLA), also in Bolgatanga; St Anne’s, Bongo; St Joseph’s, Bolgatanga-Soe; St Theresa’s, Tongo; and St Paul’s, Walewale.
The rest are St Martin’s de Pores in Zuarungu, St Francis of Assisi Rectorate, Sumbrungu and St Theresa’s Rectorate in Zorko.
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