Faith
of our Fathers re-enacted
Some Priests of the
Accra Archdiocese recently re-enacted the ‘Faith
of Our Fathers’ as part of the 120th Anniversary of the Catholic
Mission in Accra.
The play, held at the
Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka in Accra, was watched by hundreds of lay
faithful and was the second after the first show at the Good Shepherd Parish in
Tema, Community Two.
The drama, directed by
Rev. Fr. Raymond Osei-Tutu, Parish Priest of Nima St. Kizito Church, was an
adaptation of the script by Maurice Lyn of the Cape Coast Archdiocese, which recounts
the resistance and suffering the missionaries and early converts faced in the Kingdom
of Buganda now part of Uganda.
Fr. Osei-Tutu linked
the death of the 23 Martyrs of Uganda, murdered in 1884 for their faith, to the
ordination of the 23 Priests in the Archdiocese, and drew similarities of the
experiences of the early Missionaries in Uganda and Ghana.
He noted that the
Catholic Archdiocese in Accra has Martyrs of Uganda as one of her Patron Saints.
Fr. Osei-Tutu, narrator
of the play, acted the Character of the Missionary Priest in the play, who taught
the people of Buganda the new faith and some songs.
Rev. Fr. James Ahenkora
of the Holy Family Church Mataheko, acted the impressive role of the unrepentant
youth King Mwanga II, who demanded loyalty from the very subjects he sought to molest.
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel
Teresa Cudjoe, Assistant Priest of Taifa St. Dominic Rectorate, played the role
Joseph Mukasa, an old Courtier and senior most member of the King’s Court.
Rev. Fr. Ebenezer Kofi
Hanson of St. Raphael the Archangel Church at Lashibi, acted out the
controversial Prime Minister character, who orchestrated and masterminded the
murdering of the early Christians.
The King’s darling young
and wise Kizito, acted by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Salifu of the Kpehe St. Paul’s
Church, exhibited confidence in the new faith he received, when he together
with Charles Lwanga and the other companions defied King Mwanga’s order for
them to renounce their new faith.
With the aid of a dreadful
Royal Executioner, Mutakanga acted by Rev. Fr. Samuel K. Korkordi, Assistant
Parish Priest of Christ the King, he dutifully effected the King’s order to
torture and murder the new converts.
The cast included Rev.
Fr. Francis Oteng-Bawuah of the Kotobabi St. Francis Xavier Church as the
Fetish priest of Buganda; Fr. Gabriel Kojo Ettiene of Star of the Sea; Fr.
Michael Melvin Mensah of Battor Church and Precious Nutsugah of Kaneshie St.
Theresa's Parish, who acted roles of the two women in the play.
Others were Rev. Frs.
Hilary Agbenosi of Kwashiman Prince of Peace Church; Januarius Akpabli; the
newly ordained Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Duku for the Accra Archdiocese and Bro.
Courage Dogbe, a Seminarian.
The audiences who sat
through the more than two-hour show, recaptured the faith, suffering,
tribulation and challenges the early Missionaries and converts went through in
living their faith.
Most Rev. Charles
Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, commended the Priests
for staging the show, adding that they made the Priesthood a lively vocation.
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