Our Patronal Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows took on special significance for the Province of West Africa as it celebrated the reception of four postulants into its St. André Bessette Novitiate in Brafoyaw, Ghana. For the last two years, the province has sent its novices to the Province of East Africa’s Novitiate at Lake Saaka.

To prepare the novices for their novitiate year, they made a three-day retreat led by Br. John Agyemang, C.S.C., who is one of the eight pioneering missionaries set to go to Papua New Guinea. The theme was An Indispensable Phenomenon for Growth.

The reception ceremony was held in the St. André Bessette Chapel on the grounds of the Province Centre in Brafoyaw, which is also where the novitiate is located. Br. John Affum, C.S.C., Superior of the Province of West Africa, presented the postulants to their Novice Master, Br. Francisco Gillette, C.S.C., and Assistant, Br. William Tawiah, C.S.C.

As part of the ceremony, the four new novices received their novice habit, Liturgy of the Hours prayer books, and a copy of the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross.