SALUTATIONS
Introduction
To God be the Glory for granting us His mercies and making it possible for the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference to open the Cause for the Beatification of Sir James Marshall recently and at the request of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall. I am deeply humbled to be given this opportunity to speak on this important occasion in this historic Church – St. Joseph’s Minor Basilica – and in this historic town, Elmina. In giving this brief address, I intend to dwell mainly on how we got to this stage in our collective quest for the beatification of Sir James Marshall. This initial part of the “journey” can be divided into three eras; namely, (i) formation of the Knights of Marshall in 1926; (ii) discovery of the tomb of Sir James Marshall in 1985 at the Mary Magdalene Parish at Mortlake in London; and (iii) the initial permissions seeking and granting cycle for the beatification cause as from 2014.
Formation of the Knights of Marshall in 1926
The historical account given by the Noble Order indicates that in 1925, some enthusiastic young men of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Sekondi planned and formed a Catholic Friendly Society which they named “ASSOCIATION OF CHARITY”…. Subsequently, thirteen ardent young men – led by Brothers J. Brookman-Amissah and J. A. Kwesi-Aaba – conducted further search and decided to institute a fraternal society (The Knights of Marshall which was founded in 1926) that would immortalize the memory of Sir James Marshall for his strong advocacy work that contributed immensely to the re-establishment of the Catholic Mission in the Gold Coast (Ghana) in May 1880 when the two pioneer Priests of the Society of the African Missions began their Missionary work in the Gold Coast. In his Memoirs, Sir James Marshall characteristically also describes the encouragement he gave to the transfer of his formally educated godson (James Gordon, a.k.a. James Ashanti) from Lagos to Elmina to assist Fathers Moreau and Murat in various ways, and especially in learning the Fanti language and in acting as their interpreter… He was able to prevail on James Gordon to remain working at the Elmina Mission in spite of the poverty that he (James Gordon) was confronted with (Memoirs of Sir James Marshall – Reminiscences).
Sir James Marshall was a very devout clergyman with personal love for Our Lord Jesus Christ and deep habits of prayer. He was kind-hearted, well respected and well-loved Anglican Clergyman who converted to the Catholic Faith. The history of Sir James Marshall shows him as a strong advocate for the Catholic Faith, devoted lay apostolate, devoted family man, teacher and a dedicated worker. What separated him from the rest of his peers was his ability and drive to combine his official career with the spread of the Catholic Faith in the Gold Coast and Nigeria (Lagos and Asaba) during those early and critical years of missionary work in West Africa.
The Knights and Ladies of Marshall have therefore instituted biennial lectures to honour the memory of the two pioneering priests and Sir James Marshall in the re-establishment of the Catholic Mission in the Gold Coast. In this regard, the fifteenth in the series of the Marshall Moreau Murat Memorial Lectures will be held in July, 2019 as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Ladies of Marshall.
Discovery of the Tomb of Sir James Marshall
In October 1985, the then Deputy Supreme Knight of the Knights of Marshall (Current Supreme Director of the Noble Order, Sir Kt. Bro. Vet. Cdr. Dr. E.S.K. Kwaw) and the Parish Priest of Saint Mary Magdalene, Mortlake, Very. Rev. Fr. Leahy found the tomb of Sir James Marshall at the old graveyard (just behind the church) at 12 noon (Angelus) exactly. “The finding of the tomb marked the end of what appeared for 96 years to be a legend… The Knights of Marshall will forever be indebted to the … Knights of Columba” (Manual of the Noble Order). The significance of the finding of the resting place of Sir James Marshall became even more apparent to us when the Noble Order sought permission to open the cause for his beatification.
Initial permission seeking and granting cycle for the beatification cause
It is worth noting that various generations of Marshallans have been working and praying for the beatification of Sir James Marshall. This quest gained considerable impetus in early 2014 when Sir Kt. Bro. Ekow Paintsil, the then Supreme Knight, consulted with the Cabinet of the Noble Order in Sekondi as well as Bishop Howard Tripp and Sir Kt. Bro. Dr. Peter Prah in London. The objective was to enhance the measures being taken towards the beatification of Sir James Marshall. He therefore acquired some relevant documents during his official visit to London at the time. These and additional documents provided by the Supreme Director and Sir Kt. Bro. Eddie Prah were given to the erstwhile Historical and Research Committee (HRC) for further action. As a result, two documents were prepared; namely, Framework document on the History of Sir James Marshall and The Man Sir James Marshall – an overview. On the basis of these supporting documents, an application was made to the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference for approval of the Noble Order to begin the process for the beatification of Sir James Marshall. In November 2014, the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference gave approval to the Noble Order’s request to begin the process for the beatification as follows:
“At the just-ended Plenary Assembly of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Accra, the meeting approved your request for the beatification of Sir James Marshall and accordingly chose Archbishop Matthias Nketsiah of Cape Coast to oversee the exercise. The KOM are therefore to liaise with him and the Apostolic Nuncio to begin the process.”
This approval gave the Noble Order greater impetus and the Standing Committee passed a resolution in June 2016 reaffirming the Order’s commitment to commence the beatification process.
Notably, succeeding Supreme Knights (Sir Kt. Bro. Ernest Amoako –Arhen and Sir Kt. Bro. Ambrose Yennah) stepped up the work on the beatification process with the erstwhile Historical and Research Committee (now HRBC), and the Standing Committees of the Supreme Council and the Grand Court.
In respect of the earlier mentioned approval given by the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, representatives of the Noble Order paid separate working visits to Archbishop Matthias Nketsiah and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Jean Marie Speich. The Apostolic Nuncio urged the Noble Order to seek permission from Archbishop of Southwark Archdiocese in London (i.e. where Sir James Marshall was buried) before proceeding any further in order to conform with Canon Law. Upon request, he graciously agreed to contact his colleague Archbishop, Most Rev. Peter Smith. This resulted in a very productive meeting between Archbishop Peter Smith and representatives of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall in Southwark, London in June 2017. A year after this meeting, Archbishop Peter Smith gave his consent to the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference to open the Cause for the Beatification of Sir James Marshall in Cape Coast. The Noble Order was elated at this major outcome. Glory be to God.
Sir James Marshall Beatification Trust Fund
The Noble Order of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall has been made aware that pursuing a Cause for Beatification can be a long process and also require considerable amount of funding: “The beatification process is cost intensive and requires sufficient and adequate funding of all the processes culminating in the eventual beatification”.
It is in this regard that a recently prepared Trust Instrument for Sir James Marshall Trust Fund was adopted by the Standing Committee of the Supreme Council. The Knights and Ladies of Marshall have therefore established and created the Sir James Marshall Beatification Trust Fund. “The Trust Fund shall be for the sole purpose of providing a financial base and support for the beatification cause of Sir James Marshall.” It is our fervent hope that all Catholics, particularly Marshallans, will make sustained contributions into the Trust Fund.
I wish to conclude this address by expressing our high indebtedness to the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Peter Smith and all concerned for bringing us to the crucial STAGE of opening the Cause for the Beatification in the Archdiocese of Cape Coast to be overseen by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference nominated Archbishop – Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer- Buckle. Even though Knights and Ladies are expected to continue to play an important role, “the process now belongs to all Catholics.” Although a formal acknowledgement will be given later to all, please permit me to thank the Local Organizing Committee members for the remarkable work done.
May the Good Lord continue to shower His blessings on us, grant us wisdom, fortitude, spirit of discernment and show us the way. Thank you for your attention.