Irish-British Province
LOME/TOGO
A New Church in honor of St. Arnold Janssen
Imagine a new chapel, a new parish church, some new institution, dedicated
to Saint Arnold Janssen on the 15th of January of every passing year! Wouldn’t
that be really great from a missionary perspective?
It so happened again here in the archdiocese of Lome, Togo, on January 15, 2006. Yet another chapel, the first in the archdiocese of Lome, was dedicated to the memory of our saintly Founder.
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Archbishops Blume and Kpodzro arrive |
The chapel is built in Dekpo-Bokloti, a village about 30 km from Lome city. It was blessed by Mons. Michael BLUME, the new Apostolic Nuncio to Togo-Benin. The Archbishop of Lome Mons. Philippe Kpodzro, in his homily, paid great tributes to Arnold Janssen and the first SVD missionaries sent by him to Togoland, at the end of the 19th century. |
Those missionaries had planted the first church at Togoville, on the banks of the Lake Togo... what’s more, the present chapel, in honour of our Founder, is also built on the Lake Togo, though on the other side.
The president of the parish council profusely thanked our confrere Father Marian SCHWARK, who provides pastoral services in that particular village community every weekend, for having helped them construct such a beautiful church on the lake-front.
The liturgical ceremonies were followed by a festive lunch in the house of the village chief!
Source: Arnoldus Nota
