Posted On 2010-03-17 In Covenant Life

Schoenstatt seeds in Ghana

Children in Ghana - Volta regionGHANA, mkf. Fr. Raphael Benuyenah, Rector of the Seminary in Cape Coast, Ghana, sealed his Covenant of Love some years ago while studying German in Germany. He happened to get to know Schoenstatt during this period and got into closer contact in 2003 while spending some weeks in Schoenstatt. There, he got to know Marge Rolan, a Schoenstatt pioneer in Oregon, USA…and these pioneers had found each other. It was Marge Rolan who encouraged him to start Schoenstatt in his country. One pilgrim MTA, one missionary, is enough, she told him. From her own experience.


Sometime after returning to Ghana, he sent a Ghana flag to Schoenstatt with the news: “I am very happy to inform you that God has planted the seed of the International Schoenstatt Movement in Ghana through the Family Rosary Apostolate.” Fr. Raphael’s father assumed the task of leading a group of parishioners in praying the rosary gathered around an MTA picture. Fr. Raphael kept in touch with Schoenstatt through the website. “I thank you for keeping me in your prayers andin theCovenant of Love with the whole Schoenstatt Family. I have been reading all the “Covenant Greetings” on Schoenstatt.de with a grateful heart. May God bless your good works and may our Mother Trice Admirable prayfor us.”

A Schoenstatt Apostle called home

Cape Coast, Ghana“The Schoenstatt Family Rosary Campaign continues in my village of Wusuta with the help and love of my parents,” he shares. “Only I have to tell you with sorrow that my father, Gabriel, left us into Eternal Life on the 22nd January of this year. He was buried on Friday the 29th of January.Our Bishop Francis was there with seventy-eight priests, thirty-seven Sisters, many seminarians, and a large crowd of believers, sympathizers, and loved ones. Our beloved father was a man of great Faith, Prayer, and Endured Pain quietly: a simple man full of trust in God and Our Mother Mary. He had prayed the Holy Rosary since his baptism at age thirteen. He became a Catechist and Teacher of the Faith and brought many to God and Christ. A man of the Holy Rosary and Family Prayer Life, he taught many to pray the rosary and to trust in the motherly intercession of the Mother Trice Admirable. He was praying the Holy Rosary with my mother, Odilia, and my sister, Veronica, when he slipped into eternity. We love and will always cherish him. Please pray for his soul.”

In the International Year of Priests

Father Raphael had brought an MTA picture to the Seminary, and future priests pray the rosary before this picture: “I hope the Schoenstatt Movement will one day be established in Ghana,” he writes.

Humanly seen an impossibility: A longing lingers with Fr. Raphael, who studied in Rome and was prepared by Fr. Alberto Eronti to seal his Covenant of Love there: He would like to participate in the International Priests’ Meeting and Retreat for the end of the Year for the Priests in Rome…

While longing for this, he continues to sow the seeds of Schoenstatt in his country…

1 Responses

  1. Rev. Fr. Raphael says:

    I am a Lecturer in Sacred Scriptures and Vice Dean of Studies. Not the Rector. I admit there might be an unclear understanding of my job in the Seminary: ST. PETER´s REGIONAL SEMINARY, CAPE COAST GHANA.

    Thanks.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *