125th ANNIVERSARY! 125th ANNIVERSARY!! 125th ANNIVERSARY!!!
St. Michael Co-Cathedral Catholic Church, Keta, Celebrates
her 125 Anniversary, Hurray!!!
her 125 Anniversary, Hurray!!!
The Catholic Bishop of Keta-Akatsi Diocese, Most Rev. Anthony Kwame Adanuty, the Co-Cathedral Administrator, Very Rev. Fr. Vincent Aloysius Agboli, the Church Committee, the 125th Anniversary Central Planning Committee and the entire Catholic Community of Keta St. Michael Co-Cathedral Catholic Church have the pleasure to invite all and sundry especially the citizens of Keta to her 125th Anniversary Grand Durbar on Saturday, 17th October, 2015, at the Church premises at 9:00am. Thanksgiving Mass would be celebrated on Sunday, 18th October, 2015.
The theme for the Celebration is New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith in Keta, in the light of Africae Munus.
Faith is a journey and every step draws us closer to God and help is to know Him and relate with Him better. St. Michael Co-Cathedral Church at Keta began this journey of faith on 25th May, 1890 when Rev. Frs. Michael Wade from Ireland and Jean Baptist Thuet from France arrived and started primary evangelization in the Catholic faith.
The Good News was heartily welcomed by our forefathers and spread very fast. The Gold Coast was raised to the rank of Vicariate on 7th March 1901 and Msgr. Maximillan Albert was nominated as its first Vicar Apostolic.
When Msgr. Albert paid his first visit to Keta, this was what he said in his letter to his Superiors in France: “I returned from my trip to Keta on December 29th and brought home from their best impression! It was the first time that I saw this station. It was materially one of the equipped missions. The schools are in good shape and a very powerful means in the work of evangelization. I administered Confirmation to 60 persons".
During the Episcopate of Bishop Hummel, Fr. Augustine Herman, a forty-three(43) year old Missionary in Nigeria was appointed the first Vicar of the newly created Vicariate of the Lower Volta in 1923. This was done by dividing the Apostolic Vicariate of the Gold Coast and Togo which was then entrusted to the Society of African Missions (SMA).
The Vicar of the Lower Volta Comprised five existing residential station, Keta and Denu in the Gold Coast; Kpandu, Bla (Hohoe) and Ho in the Togo part of the Vicariate.
Bishop Herman administered the Vicariate for twenty-two (22) years and then gave up the ghost on 8th April, 1945 in Lome. His mortal remains were however brought to Keta and buried in St. Michael Co-Cathedral Church.
His successor was Msgr. Joseph Holland from Liverpool. During his tenure the hierarchy was established in the Gold Coast in 1950 and the Vicariate of the Lower Volta where the SMA had the Jus Commissions, was raised to the status of a Diocese, becoming the Diocese of Keta. Bishop Holland had to retire for health reasons in 1954.
Bishop Anthony Konings succeeded Bishop Holland in 1954 and during their administration (Msgr. Holland and Msgr. Konings) the number of everything increased - things like residential stations, Catholic membership, Diocesan Priests, Teachers, Catechists, Chapels and Schools.
Then Bishop Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu from Gbi-Atabu (Hohoe) took over from Bishop Anthony Konings on 10th April, 1976. Bishop Lodonu has been Auxillary Bishop of Keta since June, 1973. However, in 1976, two things happened: the transfer of the Episcopal See from Keta to Ho and the renaming of the Diocese of Keta as Keta-Ho Diocese. It was during the time of Bishop Lodonu that Keta-Ho Diocese was divided into three (3) Dioceses, namely: Jasikan Diocese, Ho Diocese, and Keta-Akatsi Diocese.
Keta-Akatsi with 7,470sq kilometers has as her Bishop, Most Rev. Anthony Kwame Adanuty: born 11th May 1940 at Kpandu, V/R; ordained Priest on 31st July 1966; elected Bishop on 19th December, 1994:consecrated Bishop on 28th May 1995 and enthroned Bishop on 10th June 1995. He celebrated his first Mass at Keta on 17th June, 1995.
It is however to note that when the Vicariate became a Diocese and called KETA DIOCESE, KETA became a hunter whose name remained with the meat he always hunted. "ADELA FE NKƆ ME VƆNA LE ADELA NKU O”
The New Cathedral of the young Keta-Akatsi Diocese is Christ the King at Akatsi. However, it is the old Keta Cathedral which is now Co-Cathedral of the New Diocese that is giving the whole Keta-Akatsi Diocese and the whole Volta Region this great opportunity to celebrate her One Hundred and Twenty Five (125) years with her. Hurray!!! We have two projects in mind: building a place of residence for the Bishop and buying a land to be used as a new Catholic burial ground. We humbly request that you donate generously to support us.
Please contact the following.
Rev. Fr. Vincent Aloysius Agboli (Co-Cathedral Administrator) or 0243212508 or 0505170707; Mr. Francis Tamakloe (Chairman of the 125th Anniversary Planning Committee) on 0244409826 or 0208325093. Our Bank Account Number is: St. Michael Cathedral, Keta – Ghana Commercial Bank, Keta 5071010015873.
Thank you and God bless you.
The theme for the Celebration is New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith in Keta, in the light of Africae Munus.
Faith is a journey and every step draws us closer to God and help is to know Him and relate with Him better. St. Michael Co-Cathedral Church at Keta began this journey of faith on 25th May, 1890 when Rev. Frs. Michael Wade from Ireland and Jean Baptist Thuet from France arrived and started primary evangelization in the Catholic faith.
The Good News was heartily welcomed by our forefathers and spread very fast. The Gold Coast was raised to the rank of Vicariate on 7th March 1901 and Msgr. Maximillan Albert was nominated as its first Vicar Apostolic.
When Msgr. Albert paid his first visit to Keta, this was what he said in his letter to his Superiors in France: “I returned from my trip to Keta on December 29th and brought home from their best impression! It was the first time that I saw this station. It was materially one of the equipped missions. The schools are in good shape and a very powerful means in the work of evangelization. I administered Confirmation to 60 persons".
During the Episcopate of Bishop Hummel, Fr. Augustine Herman, a forty-three(43) year old Missionary in Nigeria was appointed the first Vicar of the newly created Vicariate of the Lower Volta in 1923. This was done by dividing the Apostolic Vicariate of the Gold Coast and Togo which was then entrusted to the Society of African Missions (SMA).
The Vicar of the Lower Volta Comprised five existing residential station, Keta and Denu in the Gold Coast; Kpandu, Bla (Hohoe) and Ho in the Togo part of the Vicariate.
Bishop Herman administered the Vicariate for twenty-two (22) years and then gave up the ghost on 8th April, 1945 in Lome. His mortal remains were however brought to Keta and buried in St. Michael Co-Cathedral Church.
His successor was Msgr. Joseph Holland from Liverpool. During his tenure the hierarchy was established in the Gold Coast in 1950 and the Vicariate of the Lower Volta where the SMA had the Jus Commissions, was raised to the status of a Diocese, becoming the Diocese of Keta. Bishop Holland had to retire for health reasons in 1954.
Bishop Anthony Konings succeeded Bishop Holland in 1954 and during their administration (Msgr. Holland and Msgr. Konings) the number of everything increased - things like residential stations, Catholic membership, Diocesan Priests, Teachers, Catechists, Chapels and Schools.
Then Bishop Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu from Gbi-Atabu (Hohoe) took over from Bishop Anthony Konings on 10th April, 1976. Bishop Lodonu has been Auxillary Bishop of Keta since June, 1973. However, in 1976, two things happened: the transfer of the Episcopal See from Keta to Ho and the renaming of the Diocese of Keta as Keta-Ho Diocese. It was during the time of Bishop Lodonu that Keta-Ho Diocese was divided into three (3) Dioceses, namely: Jasikan Diocese, Ho Diocese, and Keta-Akatsi Diocese.
Keta-Akatsi with 7,470sq kilometers has as her Bishop, Most Rev. Anthony Kwame Adanuty: born 11th May 1940 at Kpandu, V/R; ordained Priest on 31st July 1966; elected Bishop on 19th December, 1994:consecrated Bishop on 28th May 1995 and enthroned Bishop on 10th June 1995. He celebrated his first Mass at Keta on 17th June, 1995.
It is however to note that when the Vicariate became a Diocese and called KETA DIOCESE, KETA became a hunter whose name remained with the meat he always hunted. "ADELA FE NKƆ ME VƆNA LE ADELA NKU O”
The New Cathedral of the young Keta-Akatsi Diocese is Christ the King at Akatsi. However, it is the old Keta Cathedral which is now Co-Cathedral of the New Diocese that is giving the whole Keta-Akatsi Diocese and the whole Volta Region this great opportunity to celebrate her One Hundred and Twenty Five (125) years with her. Hurray!!! We have two projects in mind: building a place of residence for the Bishop and buying a land to be used as a new Catholic burial ground. We humbly request that you donate generously to support us.
Please contact the following.
Rev. Fr. Vincent Aloysius Agboli (Co-Cathedral Administrator) or 0243212508 or 0505170707; Mr. Francis Tamakloe (Chairman of the 125th Anniversary Planning Committee) on 0244409826 or 0208325093. Our Bank Account Number is: St. Michael Cathedral, Keta – Ghana Commercial Bank, Keta 5071010015873.
Thank you and God bless you.