“No huge expenses”: Nuncio in Ghana Urges Rediscovery of Spiritual Meaning of Burial Rites

Accra, 03 November, 2025 / 4:04 PM

The Apostolic Nuncio in Ghana has cautioned the people of God against practices that strip the Christian burial rite of its true spiritual meaning, urging them instead to mark it with dignity, simplicity, and deep faith.

In his homily on All Souls Day, Archbishop Julien Kaboré emphasized that Jesus Christ transformed the tomb into “the gateway to glory,” making it no longer a "symbol of defeat but a sign of hope.”

“Every Christian cemetery, therefore, is a silent proclamation of faith…the crosses and inscriptions all declare, ‘Christ is risen’, and we shall rise with him,” the Vatican diplomat said during the November 2 Holy Mass that was celebrated at the Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Yendi.

He added, “That's why, brothers and sisters, we are called to celebrate the rite of Christian burial and all our funerals with dignity,  but also with simplicity and faith.”

“No huge expenses,” Archbishop Kaboré said, and went on to underscore that Christian burials are not meant to be moments of extravagance or show off, but “sacred moments to proclaim that those who die in Christ will live eternally in him.”

He said, “Let every funeral in our communities be a proclamation of Easter hope, marked by prayer, sobriety, confidence, simplicity, and faith in the resurrection.”

The native of Burkina Faso, who has been the Pope’s representative in Ghana since June 2024 invited the people of God in the West African nation to be cautious of cultural practices that tend to celebrate death instead of life.

He said, “Across all cultures and generations, people have sought to protect the dead with gestures of love, a sign of belief that love itself intercedes and continues beyond the grave. But today's world, too often closed to faith, risks losing this sacred vision.”

“We are not celebrating death. We are celebrating life. Beware of those cultures that, instead of celebrating life, just seek to celebrate death in some ways, and we have many examples even today,” he said.

In his November 2 homily, the Apostolic Nuncio in Ghana also reflected on the significance of All Souls Day, describing it as a moment “when heaven and earth draw nearer to one another, and our prayer, our memory, and our love cross the veil of death.”

“The Church, like a loving mother, gathers all her children, the living and the dead, into one act of faith and hope,” he said.

He added that the Church also invites the people of God to fix their eyes on Jesus Christ, “the resurrection and the life,” and to find in him the meaning of mortality.

The representative of the Holy Father in Ghana explained that the communion of saints, the sacred bond professed in the Apostles’ Creed, “unites the Church on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven.”

He said, “This communion means that our departed are not forgotten. When we pray for them, we help them draw nearer to the fullness of God's light, and when we invoke their intercession, they in turn remember us before the Lord.”

“We have to tell their stories to preserve their memories, because love seeks to endure. Standing before the graves of our parents, our friends, and our ancestors, we see reflected our own history, the history of the people of faith, through whom God's grace continues to flow,” he stated.

He continued, “As we gather for this solemn Mass, we are reminded that our faith embraces both the living and the dead. We are one family of God, pilgrims on earth, united with those who have reached the Father's house.”

The 57-year-old Vatican diplomat noted that “when life is reduced to what can be seen and measured, it becomes hollow and meaningless.”

“Humanity cannot be explained without eternity. This faith in eternal life does not turn us away from the world,” he said, and added, “It teaches us to love it rightly, to build peace, to be peacemakers, to serve one another, and to plant seeds of goodness that will blossom eternally.”

“Let us entrust ourselves and all the faithful departed to the loving care of our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, who stood faithfully beneath the cross and shared in her son's victory over death,” implored Archbishop Kaboré in his November 2 homily.