Speech at Thanksgiving Mass at Saint Patrick Church, Atomic by Worthy Brother Charles Nuoriyee
Regional Grand Knight, Accra East Regional Council
Marshallans, Marshallans
Brother Rev Father
Chairman and Members of PPC, Sir Knights, Most Respected Ladies
Worthy Brothers, Respected Ladies
Marshallan Brothers and Sisters,
My brothers and Sisters in Christ good afternoon.
Rev. Fr, permit us to first thank the Parish Priest, Rev Fr Bernard Kyei and his Assistant, the Chairman and Members of PPC and the entire congregation of this dynamic Parish/Church for giving us the opportunity and space to worship with them today, May 7, a day Our Noble Order has set aside as the feast day of Sir James Marshall
We, Members of the Noble Order of Knights and Ladies of Marshall from the Accra East Regional Council and Court are here to thank God for the life and works of Sir James Marshall and also pray for his Beatification.
WHO IS SIR JAMES MARSHALL?
History of the Catholic Church in West Africa will not be complete without the name of Sir James Marshall. Sir James Marshall was a successful Scottish Anglican Priest who converted to Catholicism as a layman and while working in the British Colonial Service in Nigeria and Ghana persistently added his voice to the re-establishment of the Catholic Church in the then Gold Coast in 1880 after nearly 250 years of the breakdown of the first Catholic Church established by the Portuguese in 1437. As Then Chief Justice of the Gold Coast he supported the two pioneer Priests Rev Fathers Auguste Moreau and Eugene Murat to settle and adjust to life in their new station in Elmina.
WHO ARE THE MARSHALLANS? The Noble Order of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall is a Catholic friendly Society founded in 1926 at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church in Sekondi with two primary objectives.
- To bring Catholic men and women together for effective lay apostolate and Catholic action.
- To provide a friendly social Forum for Catholics who might otherwise be attracted to non-catholic fraternities
Our Founding Fathers made enquires as regards the history of the Knights of Columbus and found out that while the Knights of Columbus exists as a fraternal association it also immortalizes the name of a catholic layman Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America. Inspired by a similar spirit, the founding fathers also decided to immortalize the memory of Sir James Marshall, the man who championed and espoused the refounding of the Catholic Church in the Gold Coast.
Our fraternity, since 1926 has expanded across the borders of Ghana into Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo/ Benin, United Kingdom, Burkina Faso and very soon Ivory Coast. The Noble Order of Knights and Ladies of Marshall is the new evangelizing force in West Africa.
Junior Order. Our order has a Junior wing where the young ones are brought up in the Catholic discipline from age 8-21 years.
HOW AND WHERE DO I JOIN? If you are between 18 and 55 years and a practicing Catholic interested in joining us, Please kindly contact Brothers Albert Akurugu and Prosper Afriyie for direction. We have Councils and Courts at St Peters Parish, OSU, Christ the King Parish, Queen of Peace Parish Madina, Mary Mother of Good Counsel Airport West and Saint John the Evangelist Parish Adenta.
Brother Rev Fr, Chairman Of PPC MrAnthony Kofi, my brothers and Sisters In Christ of St Patrick Church and Parish, the good news is that we have plans to consecrate a Council and Court in your Parish any time you are ready and we have tasked Brother Albert Dakurugu (Chairman 1) and his senior Brother Prosper Afriyie to make it a reality.
THE MESSAGE. Rev Fr, Sir James Marshall led an exemplary life in the Gold Coast as a Public Servant and a devout Catholic. As we celebrate his works and deeds to immortalize his memory, the Regional Noble Lady and myself would like to use this opportunity to call on all Catholic faithful particularly my brothers and Sisters of the Noble Order to continue to show that high moral and ethical standards in their businesses, national politics, public service and social life. Again, we are calling on our brothers and sisters to support the fight against the destruction of the environment and water bodies. As members of the Noble Order we have no choice because that is our way of life, Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Service.
We thank you for your attention.