MISSION Magazine Winter 2024

30
Ghana has some 33 million people, an estimated 10 percent of whom are
Catholics. In 2018, Ghana was among the 10 fastest-growing economies in the
world and is currently the second-largest economy in West Africa. But even
though the country has made tremendous progress in reducing poverty in
recent decades, its success has been uneven, and significant inequalities still
exist. A majority of the population in the northern region lives on less than $1 a
day - with the poverty line set back in 2011 at $1.90 a day.
Hence, the need for missionary priests such as Father Pat, whom, with
the permission of Springfield’s Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, has been
ministering in Ghana after joining the Society of St. Therese of the Little
Flower, also known as the Theresian
Fathers, six years ago. Their charism
is the evangelization and education
of the marginalized in sub-Saharan
Africa.
“A typical day for me begins with
the celebration of the Holy Mass,”
said Father Pat. “After, depending
on the season, I either visit families
on their farms during the rainy
months of May to October or engage
with those at home during the dry
spell from November to April.”
He painted a vivid picture of his routine at the St. Therese Youth Development
and Educational Center (STYDEC) in the village of Kaluri. “We welcome
around 120 children daily, providing them with meals, clean water, and
education. We also offer religious classes and end the day in prayer.”
STYDEC, established on October 19, 2013, through funds from St. Paul
Church in Highland, Illinois, has a dual mission. “We aim to feed both the
body and the soul,” he explained. “Education is a way to teach children how to
‘fish’ for themselves in Ghana, breaking the cycle of poverty.”
Yet, Father Pat’s mission isn’t without challenges. “Clean drinking
water remains elusive for many,” he laments, contrasting his experience in
Springfield, Illinois, with his current reality. “Waterborne diseases like guinea