Christians in Ghana urged to promote peace, reconciliation, and environmental care as Bishop Essien addresses Cape Coast pilgrimage.
Newsroom (15/06/2026 Gaudium Press ) Thousands of Catholic faithful gathered on June 13 at the Jukwa-Krobo Grotto in Ghana’s Cape Coast Archdiocese for the annual Marian pilgrimage, where a strong call to action was delivered: Christians must become agents of peace in a fractured and troubled world.
Bishop Joseph Francis Kweku Essien, Bishop Emeritus of the Wiawso Catholic Diocese, used the occasion to urge believers to actively promote reconciliation, justice, and environmental stewardship in societies increasingly marked by division and moral decline.
A World in Crisis
In his homily, Bishop Essien painted a sobering picture of contemporary society, lamenting what he described as a breakdown in human fraternity. According to him, the consequences are evident in widespread social challenges.
“In our world today, we have fractured our brotherliness, and the result we see is chaos everywhere in our world,” he said.
The Bishop listed crimes, systemic injustices, bribery, corruption, and environmental destruction as clear indicators of a society driven by selfishness and greed. He further highlighted the growing disregard for nature, warning that human actions are accelerating ecological damage.
“We live in a world where we have no respect for the environment which sustains human life,” he noted, pointing to deforestation, water pollution, and illegal mining as urgent concerns.
Redefining Peace
Bishop Essien emphasized that peace cannot be reduced to the mere absence of conflict. Instead, he described it as a deeper, transformative reality rooted in restored relationships.
“The true meaning of peace transcends merely the absence of war; it is the state of experiencing and exercising reconciliation and forgiveness,” he said.
He encouraged Christians to draw inspiration from the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom he described as the Queen of Peace, working in harmony with Jesus Christ to bring healing to the world.
“Mary, Queen of Peace, teaches us to become a bridge of peace and abandon the dividing walls of enmity and rancour,” he added.
A Call to Personal Responsibility
The Bishop challenged individuals to take personal responsibility for fostering unity, beginning within families and extending to wider communities. He urged believers to reject hatred, quarrels, and unforgiveness, and instead embody values of compassion and reconciliation.
He also stressed the importance of honesty, warning against what he described as the growing normalization of dishonesty in society.
“The world does not need lies any longer; the world needs people who are honest and truthful,” he said, adding that parents must lead by example in instilling integrity in the next generation.
Devotion and Renewal
The pilgrimage, held in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary—the Patroness of the Archdiocese—drew approximately 7,000 lay faithful, alongside the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, and about 320 priests and religious.
Reflecting on the spiritual significance of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Bishop Essien described it as perfectly united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a model for believers striving to promote peace in challenging times.
He urged the faithful to emulate Mary’s obedience to God’s will and to make a conscious commitment to building a more peaceful world.
“Let us take up the responsibility to be obedient, as Mary was, and consent to the will of God. We should make a conscious resolve to make our world a peaceful one,” he said.
Growing Tradition
Now in its fourth year, the annual Marian pilgrimage was established in 2022 by Archbishop Palmer-Buckle as a means of renewing the Archdiocese’s consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary and strengthening the spiritual mission of the faithful.
This year’s event also featured the inauguration of a reconstituted Board for the Jukwa-Krobo Grotto and the recognition of selected lay faithful for their contributions to parish life and the growth of the Church.
As the gathering concluded, Bishop Essien’s message resonated strongly: in a world facing deepening divisions and environmental strain, the responsibility to build peace rests not only on institutions but on individuals willing to live out reconciliation, truth, and faith in action.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
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