“Elected to serve,” Catholic Archbishop Urges 10 New Deacons in Ghana to “recognize relevance of service”

Cape Coast, 24 January, 2026 / 11:44 PM

Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of Ghana’s Cape Coast Archdiocese has challenged the 10 new Deacons he ordained for his Metropolitan See to “recognize the relevance of service,” reminding them that leadership in the Church is not a privilege but a call to self-giving.

In his homily during the January 23 Diaconate Ordination of Seminarians Peter Paul Acquah, Ignatius Amissah-Nyarko, Felix Amo, Peter Ankomah, Clement Appiah-Amoah, Isaac Assiamah, Ebenezer Eghan, John Edward Eisenberg, Paul Eshun, and Eric Gyan, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle urged them to embrace a spirituality of self-sacrifice.

“We live in a world where everyone wants to be served, and no one is willing to serve,” he said during the Eucharistic celebration that was held at St. Stephen Dunkwa-On-Offin Parish of Cape Coast Archdiocese.

He added, “At funerals, we are to sympathize and empathize. We now demand to be served at funerals.”

“We are called and expected to be different. Just as our Lord Jesus served, we need to recognize the relevance of service in the church and the world at large,” the Ghanaian Catholic Archbishop Emphasized, and continued, “As Church leaders in various capacities, you are elected to serve. Anyone who thinks the position is a special privilege or special status needs to rethink their motive.”

As Clergy, he went on to say, “you are not just servants but selfless servants – for the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve.”

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle urged the Deacons-elect and the people of God to embrace a spirituality of self-sacrifice.

“We should live all the time, not thinking only about ourselves,” he further said, noting that authentic ministry may even demand the ultimate sacrifice.

The Catholic Archbishop continued, “As lay faithful, Priests, Religious, and Bishops, we are all supposed to be walking towards martyrdom for self-sacrificing service.”

He reassured the Deacons-elect that God is aware of human frailty, and added, “The Lord knows we are unworthy, and yet He calls us and grants us the grace to strengthen us.”

Reflecting on the significance of their ordination, he encouraged the Deacons-elect to hold St. Stephen and St. Vincent of Saragossa in special esteem, explaining that the ordination was taking place at a parish named after St. Stephen and on the feast day of St. Vincent of Saragossa.

“The diaconate and martyrdom are synonymous,” he said.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle called for the fostering of hope and to let the light of Christ shine in a world in need of compassion and service. “As pilgrims of hope, we are to bring hope to the world by following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Earlier, the Parish Priest of St. Stephen Parish, Fr. Isaac Kwesi Amonoo, welcomed the Archbishop, Clergy, women and men Religious, and the faithful.

Addressing the Deacons-elect, Fr. Kwesi said, “It is our prayer that you will imitate the faith, courage, and service of St. Stephen. May God’s grace strengthen you as you prepare to receive this sacred ministry.”

The January 23 Diaconate Ordination was a culmination of a series of spiritual events at St. Stephen Dunkwa-On-Offin Parish.

Earlier, on January 22, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle presided over the solemn rededication of the parish’s 93-year-old church building, originally completed and blessed in 1933 following the establishment of Catholic presence in Dunkwa-On-Offin in 1897.

The rededication followed a period of extensive refurbishments, particularly on the altar, necessitating a formal liturgical renewal.

The Eucharistic celebration began outside the church, where the Archbishop exhorted the faithful, citing Leviticus 19:1-2, to be holy as the Lord is holy.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle emphasized the sacred distinction between a table and an altar, saying that what he was blessing is “an altar of sacrifice.”

He reminded the faithful that entering God’s presence is a divine invitation and urged them to honor their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit.

The Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in January 1993 as Bishop of Ghana’s Koforidua Diocese cautioned against inappropriate dressing, speech, and behavior in church, warning that such actions distract from worship.

“Certain dresses should not be worn to Church. Certain speech should not be made by us, because we are the very temples of God, and more so inappropriate utterances should not be made in the church building, such as gossiping and making mockery of people in the church should be discarded,” he said.

The Local Ordinary of Cape Coast since July 2018 following his transfer from Accra Archdiocese added, “We should be careful not to parade ourselves to show off in church because it can distract people’s attention away from God.”

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Using a Ghanaian proverb — “A crab does not beget a bird” — he reiterated the need for Christians to recognize their calling to a holy life, and for their respective lives to reflect the holiness of their Master, Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle encouraged Catholics to cherish their faith, particularly the gift of the daily Eucharist, appealed for punctuality in church activities, and urged dormant communicants to return to the Sacrament.

“The Catholic Church is unique because of the daily Eucharistic celebrations, where we have the opportunity to receive our Lord Jesus sacramentally,” said the Ghanaian Catholic Archbishop, who marked a rare triple milestone of his 75th birthday, 49th Priestly anniversary, and 33rd Episcopal anniversary with a thanksgiving Mass on January 9 that doubled as the annual co-workers’ Christmas get-together.

These Eucharistic celebrations, the Catholic Church leader noted, “are not only about renewing buildings but about renewing lives, so that in the end we may share in the Kingdom of God.”

“Be concerned particularly about making progress in your Christian life, so that in the end you may have a share in the Kingdom of God. The physical church building can be affected by natural disaster however, if our bodies, which are the temples of God, are aligned with God’s word, then even if we die, we will enjoy the eternal kingdom of God. It will also mean I did my work as a good shepherd,” Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said.

Fr. Francis Madonna Ayaric of Cape Coast Catholic Archdiocese contributed to this story