There is an air of anticipation in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Region of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, as the Region prepares for its 2023 Regional Conference on 19th August 2023.
On that day, history will be made when the Region will be reconfigured into three new Regions, namely the Navrongo-Bolgatanga West, Navrongo-Bolgatanga Central and Navrongo-Bolgatanga East.
The reconfiguration will result in the installation of three Regional Grand Knights, three Regional Noble Ladies, and their Deputies to head the respective Administrations.
From its humble beginnings with the consecration of Council 28 Bolgatanga in 1974, the Noble Order has expanded, with the consecration of ten Councils and ten Courts in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese of the Catholic Church.
Prior to the consecration of Council 28 Bolgatanga, the closest Council to Brothers in the Region was Council 27 Tamale.
It took the tireless efforts of some Brothers of Council 28 Tamale led by Brothers Augustine Tioyem Azupio, Berchmas Asagedeweh, and Nana Kofi Aboagye Nyame, and with the support of the then Supreme Membership Co-ordinator, Sir Knight Bro Francis Baffoe Bonnie Appiagyei, for Council 28 to be consecrated on 14th December 1974 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish in Bolgatanga.
The then Supreme Knight, the late Sir Knight Bro J. J. Mensah Kane, was the Consecrating Officer.
The torch lit in 1974 has resulted in the consecration of Council 46 and Court 55 Bawku, Council 79 and Court 77 Navrongo, Council 106 and Court 128 Walewale, Council 118 and Court 144 Bongo, and Council 129 and Court 169 Garu.
The rest are Council 137 and Court 129 Zebilla, Council 150 and Court 147 Sirigu, Council 151 and Court 148 Bolgatanga, and Council 171 and Court 165 Sandema.
The Councils and Courts that constitute Navrongo-Bolgatanga West Region are those in Navrongo, Sirigu, and Sandema. The Region will be administered from Navrongo.
Councils and Courts in Bolgatanga, Walewale, and Bongo will constitute Navrongo-Bolgatanga Central with Bolgatanga as its headquarters.
Bawku will be the headquarters of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga East, with Councils and Courts of Bawku, Garu, and Zebilla as its components.
The reconfiguration is of great significance to the Noble Order in the Region because it will reduce the travel time of some Brothers and Sisters who have had to travel long distances to congregate at Regional programmes.
Historical background
Following its consecration on September 16, 1972, Council 27 Tamale, became part of the then Ashanti-Brong- Ahafo and Northern Region, ABANO, of the Noble Order.
Thus, Grand Knights and representatives of Council 27 attended Regional Council meetings in Kumasi and Sunyani.
Soon after the consecration of Council 27 in Tamale, the need for the consecration of a Court became necessary in the town.
Within that period, the Deputy Noble Lady of Court 10 Ho, Sister Cecilia Dufie Mensah, arrived in Tamale to assume office as the Principal of the Community Nursing Training School.
Sister Mensah organized a few aspirants who were sent to Kumasi to be initiated and to constitute the foundation members of the proposed Court. They were Sisters Mary Tokoro, Georgina Opong, Georgina Akuamoa, Elizabeth Mills, and Theresa Boateng.
Interestingly, three non-Ghanaian aspirants were also initiated. They were Rev. Sis Clare, Miss Faith Kossak, and Miss Cassey, a member of the Grail Lay Missionaries, and secretary of Bishop Champagne.
After this initiation, a grand swell of interest developed amongst the women folk of the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral Parish, resulting in the consecration of Court 12 Tamale on 14th December 1974. The initial membership stood at twelve, with Sis. Cecilia Dufie Mensah as the Noble Lady.
The other Foundation members listed on the Charter were Sisters Elizabeth Biney, Georgina Opong, Elizabeth Mills, Mary Takoro, Anne Asare, and Victoria Apuzio.
The rest were Alice A. Abaana, Theresa Boateng Dodjie, Elizabeth Komieter, Ernestina Smith, and Sis. Georgina Akuamoah.
The Marshallan Fraternity in the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province (TEP) has recorded exponential growth, with the consecration of Council 28 and Court 31 in Bolgatanga.
Sisters who lived in Bolga had to travel to Tamale for their meetings because there was no Court in Bolga, and because of the distance, the bad condition of the road, and the lack of suitable transportation on that stretch, they had to leave for Tamale at dawn and return at midnight.
Sisters Victoria Azupio, Sis. Theresa Badjei and others, with the support of Brothers Augustine T. Azupio, Patrick Azika, Dominic Salam, J. B. Asagedeweh, and others from Council 28, Bolga, pushed for the consecration of a Court in Bolga which finally materialised on the Feast of Assumption in 1980.
The foundation Noble Lady was Sis. Victoria Azupio and deputised by Sis Theresa Badjei. The 30 Foundation Sisters included Sisters Victoria Azupio, Theresa Badjei, Magdalene Aruna, Lucy Kokoro, Cecilia Yoho, Corina Suglo, Selina Issaka Minyila, and others.
The Deputy Noble Lady Sis. Theresa Badjei had to travel out of the country without completing her full term.
Sis. Magdalene Aruna took over as Deputy Noble Lady to complete her unexpired term.
Council 28, Bolgatanga having been consecrated in 1974, became the gateway of the Noble Order in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese.
After the consecrations of Council 28, Bolgatanga in 1974 and Council 30, Wa in 1975, the requirement for a minimum of three Councils in a contiguous geographical area to form a Regional Council, was met.
Hence, the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Region was formed in 1987 with the late Sir Kt Bro. A. T. Azupio as the first Regional Grand Knight with Bro. E. N. Ziem as Deputy Regional Grand Knight.
It was during the tenure of Sir Kt Bro Azupio as Regional Grand Knight that the Northern Regional Council was split into the North-East and North-West Regional Councils.
It became necessary to further split the existing Regional Council as more Councils were consecrated.
Thus, at a Regional Council meeting in Tamale from 18th -20th October 2013, the erstwhile North-East Regional Council was split into the North-East Region and the Northern Region.
The former North-East Region consisted of Councils in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese which currently covers the political administrative regions of Upper East and North-East Regions.
The Supreme Council and the Grand Court representatives will make history as they reconfigure the Region into three, namely Navrongo-Bolgatanga West Region, Navrongo-Bolgatanga East Region, and Navrongo-Bolgatanga Central Region, on August 19, 2023 at Bolgatanga. On that day, three new Regional Grand Knights and three Regional Noble Ladies and their Deputies will be installed to lead their respective Regions into a new era and chart the path to success based on the Strategic Plan of the Noble Order.
Write up by Bro Ophelius Yinyeh