St. Boniface Parish & Sacred Heart Parish in Bolgatanga, Ghana
Below is a story reflecting on St. Boniface's relationship with Father Roger Aboteyuure from Sacred Heart Parish in Bolgatanga, Ghana
A chance encounter between a missionary visiting the Milwaukee area and a parish priest led two very different congregations into a special relationship. Father Roger Aboteyuure from Sacred Heart Parish in Bolgatanga, Ghana was visiting the area when he sought help from Fr. Bernie Sippel, then at Pewaukee. From this meeting came a life-long friendship that led to St. Boniface parish, where Fr. Bernie was later pastor, becoming a sister parish to Sacred Heart. The two parishes have become closer through a variety of activities.
Visits between clergy and members of the parishes have occurred through the years. Fr. Roger, now Monsignor Aboteyuure, visited on three occasions spending time at St. Boniface meeting the parishioners, visiting the school, and preaching at masses. Beginning in 1998 members of St. Boniface visited Sacred Heart. The first group included Fr. Bernie, Deacon Jim Chrisien, and other parishioners.
Parish members also visited in 2005 and 2007. Deacon Jim represented St. Boniface in 2005 at Msgr. Roger’s 40th anniversary of his ordination. In 2007 a parish team visited Sacred Heart to determine how best to support the parish and school. Visits were made to the parish schools, a program for orphans called Afrikids, the sick, and several parish organizations.
St. Boniface supported Sacred Heart parish by sending shipping containers of needed items. The containers were packed with clothing, books, religious items, health-first aid materials, and school supplies. Starting in 1998 parishioners have donated or purchased these materials and dropped them off at the parish garage where volunteers sort and box them for shipment. One of the goals of the trip the parish team made in 2007 was to try to determine what items would be of the most value. Special emphasis was made over the last several containers to provide more supplies for school children. These took the form of sandals, school supplies, solar-powered calculators, primary and mid-school books, athletic equipment, and art supplies. Several local companies were gracious in providing bulk supplies of paper, and the daily and weekly religious school classes made special collections for the container.
Several of the eighth-grade classes used this experience and decided to aid Sacred Heart as their graduation gift to the Parish. In 2003 the graduating class decided to provide a village with the precious gift of clean water. They raised money for a well to be drilled and a pump to be installed.
Another class tackled the problem of providing electrical power for the clinic in Kongo, a village near Bolgatanga where Sacred Heart maintains another church called an out parish. The class originally wanted to purchase a generator to provide power, but it was felt that a better solution was to use a solar panel. The electricity created keeps emergency lights on and provides refrigeration for medicines.
Based on a request from the teachers at Sacred Heart, no container was sent in 2008. Instead, money was raised to provide computers for the school. This allowed the students to obtain valuable experience in keyboarding and other computer applications which will increase their employability.
The main thrust of life at Sacred Heart continues to be on finishing the cathedral that was begun several years ago. Due to the increasing size of the congregation, a church that can seat 12,000 is needed. As of 2007, the first and second floor has been poured, and work is beginning on the roof. When the parish team visited in 2007, they witnessed the volunteer work being done by the Christian Women who donate one day a month to work on the cathedral. The women were carrying flat buckets containing wet cement up a one-story ramp to dump them over the reinforcing steel and the forms for the second floor.
Fast Forward to 2022
St. Boniface Parish continues to support the work of Father Roger and the building of the cathedral. Each Christmas we hold our Ghana Project to continue our financial support. Father Roger sends us yearly updates and photos.
The progress on the cathedral is slow. It is all being done by hand. Even the supports for the roof have been installed without modern machinery. No lifts, no cranes! It is truly a labor of love.