FEAST OF ANTHONY OF PADUA: GROUND BREAKING FOR OUR SISTER CHURCH IN KALSEGRA-GHANA

Message from the people of Kalsegra
(13th June 2009)

Please accept hearty greetings and best wishes from me in Ghana. I trust that you are in good health and that you are going about your duties unhindered.

Today, you will be celebrating your parish feast, the feast of St Anthony of Padua. Today also marks the official beginning of our sister parish partnership with you. Since you encouraged us to break grounds for the establishment of our sister parish relationship on the feast day of St Anthony, we already did break ground this morning at 11.am Ghana Time. The sod-cutting was heavily witnessed by the villagers, elders, chiefs, priests and school children. It was a very solemn prayer service of thanksgiving to God for you and your families and to entrust our new partnership to the Lord through whose grace you have so generously reached out to us who live some 13 thousand miles away from you. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate and wish you and your pastor, the Reverend Father Jerry Singleton a happy celebration.

Most beloved sisters and brothers in Christ, there is a lot that one can say about this great and popular Saint, but allow me to mention only two things.

The first is this:

St Anthony wanted to go to Africa to preach the gospel but after a short stay in Morocco he had to leave due to ill health. Conse quently, he settled in mainland Italy. Even though St Anthony could not stay in Africa, he always carried Africa with him in his heart.

You too might want to go to Africa but may not be able to do so for one or the other reason, but your prayers and sacrifices can unite you with Africa. Already now, by virtue of the St Anthony Fort Lauderdale- Kalsegra Sister Parish project that you have embarked on, your hearts are already in Africa. Thank you profusely for sharing your widow s mite with us.

The second is this:

St Anthony was a friend to the poor and the downtrodden. Into the bargain, he was a fierce critic of the greedy and worldly minded. You are exempt from this indictment. In fact, by your words you teach us what true love is and by your actions you speak volumes to us in Kalsagra. May God graciously bless you and keep us in communion with Him and with one another.

As we celebrate the feast of St Anthony today as well as break grounds for our new and hopefully a perpetual relationship with you and your children s children, may we continue to strive to imitate St Anthony s love for the word of God, his pastoral zeal for the salvation of souls, his courageous commitment to the truth, his goodness to humankind and his sense of justice and concern for the poor and needy in our world.

Once again we thank you ever so much for everything, especially for adopting Fr. Linus as a member of the family of St Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale. We thank the Very Reverend Father Jerry Singleton your pastor and indeed our pastor as well for his immense and phenomenal love for Fr. Linus and the people of Kalsegra. In a world that is so much fragmented and polarised, Father Jerry Singleton by initiating this bond with us has demonstrated beyond doubt that the unity and oneness of the Church which Christ so much prayed for and continues to thirst for is still possible. In fact, Father Jerry Singleton is reinforcing the foundations of the Catholic Faith that were laid here in Kalsegra in 1929 by his brother priests-the Irish missionaries. We thank the 43 women and men who in spite of their busy and tight schedules came together a couple of months ago to form a committee for the Sister parish project. We have heard from Fr. Linus of the incredible energy, time and talent the committee has put into the planning for the establishment of this relationship. We have been told about one Ms Maura Brassil who neither sleeps nor slumbers over this project. No wonder that within a span of one month you have successfully raised enough money to build the Church in Kalsegra. To all our donors and benefactors, we say thank you elephantly.

With today s technology, we hear all the struggles that you are going through in the United States because of the economic downturn. These difficult circumstances notwithstanding, you still lovingly emptied your wallets and purses to help move the people of Kalsegra from distress to dignity. Every body in Kalsegra is still trying to overcome the shock of this miracle that you have brought upon us. In my 24 years as a priest I have never been so pleasantly surprised by such incredible goodness. On our part we are working assiduously hard and will be sending you progress reports, and once the projects are all completed, we will duly invite you to come to Ghana and personally commission the fruits of your kindness. To each and every one of you, we offer our prayers and our choicest love. May St Anthony bring this project to fruition and may he continue to strengthen the foundations of our relationship.

Once again, the chief and people of Kalsegra wish to say barka (thank you) Very Reverend Father Jerry Singleton, barka (thank you) to all the committee members, barka to all of you God s good people of St Anthony s Church. You are all in our hearts and prayers. Happy Parish Feast Day!!! With best wishes and esteem, I remain,

Devotedly yours in Christ,

Rev. Msgr. Christopher Bazaanah,
Vicar General, Archdiocese of Tamale-Ghana
(delivered by: Reverend Linus Nangwele)

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© 2009 Saint Anthony Catholic Church,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida