Posted by My name is Fr Andrew Campbell SVD, Priest in charge of Weija Leprosarium Accra and St. Jude’s Catholic Church New Weija Accra. I was ordained a priest on the 20th of December 1970 and was assigned to work in Ghana. I arrived in Ghana on the 13th of October 1971. I retired from active parish work two years ago after 50 years service to various parishes in Accra and then came to the leprosarium.
When attending primary school various missionaries from Africa would visit our school and speak of their missionary life. They impressed me very much. The magazine they gave us on their works in Africa further inspired me. One day I read an article on SVD priests working in Africa in our SVD Word magazine which was published in Ireland. I felt called to join the Divine Word Missionaries so I wrote and requested to join their junior seminary in England. This was after I spent two years from the age of 13 years when I finished primary school and worked as a laborer /Van boy at a wholesale grocery in my hometown Dublin. My parents could not afford to send me to secondary school, thus my reason for working as a laborer. After spending 3years in the junior seminary I was offered admission to the SVD NOVITIATE in Ireland. During the long vacation before I was due to go to the Novitiate, I worked as a storekeeper sweeping floors and putting food on shelves, in a big supermarket in Dublin, to get money to buy all my clothing for the seminary. I bought all my clothing except my 3 cassocks costing €10. My parents and family and friends did not have this amount of money to help me but God being so good, I got the £10 to buy my cassocks. The postman left an envelope one morning with a £10 note in it from an anonymous person.To this day I don’t know who the donor is but from that day onwards I knew God would always be there to help me.
The happiest moments in my life are when I stand behind the altar and offer each day holy mass. What a great privilege and blessing to say the words of consecration and in one’s hand hold the Body and Blood of Christ. I feel so unworthy for this honor.
I love being a missionary priest but I sometimes get discouraged when I see the lack of dedication and commitment and spirituality of some of those chosen by God. I love my Catholic faith but again I get sad when I see the lack of commitment of some of our faithful. I want to share the great gift of holy communion with all my faithful but so many don’t go to communion due to their marriage and lifestyle. I feel so sad.
I also feel happy when I give retreats and talks . I have given so many retreats especially to the youth, to various church congregations, organizations and societies and to Priests and religious. Most of all I feel very happy when I can help the poor and needy, under privileged and forgotten and marginalized. Ministering to these affected with leprosy is a real privilege and blessing and I thank God for giving me that wonderful opportunity.I feel that it is a great privilege to share God’s love and healing with these people.
My Role Model is Mother Teresa of Calcutta. In 1971 I watched a film on her life called Doing Something Beautiful for GOD . It was produced by a former atheist Malcolm Muggeridge who was later converted by Mother Teresa.
I have taken Mother Teresa’s motto as my motto “Doing Something Beautiful For God”. For my 70th birthday present, my parishioners in my parish at Christ the King Accra sent me to Rome for the canonization of Mother Teresa. She has been my inspiration, model and guide since I was ordained. Her prayer life, devotion to the Holy Eucharist, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament her devotion to the rosary, her work with the poorest of the poor have all inspired and transformed me.
Two years ago I was admitted to hospital. My community thought I had COVID but rather I had a clot in the lungs. While in hospital I had a crisis one night at midnight. My BP was that of a dead person. By the grace of God and the wonderful doctors and nurses , I was brought back to life. During my recuperation, while I was lying on my hospital bed with tubes and drips hanging out of me, I heard a voice from God “You have not finished your work. Help the poor”. In a few months after discharge I was due to go on retirement . God was now telling me that I should go and live with the Lepers, the poorest of the poor and continue to help them and all the poor I was helping.I willingly obeyed this call and here I am at the Leprosarium.
I feel God has given me the awesome task of bringing hope to all those who come my way. GOD has used me in so many ways brining hope to lepers, street children, prostitutes, prisoners, (especially those I prepared for the firing squad), school children and to the many l ministered to in the parishes I served during the past 52 years.
I wish to continue serving the poor and marginalized. My task and mission is to bring hope and love to them. The gospel message from Christ is a powerful message of hope and love. I see myself as a missionary of hope and love.
God keeps on giving me visions and assignments and tasks to help the poor. I sometimes ask God to hold on a little but his words always carry me through. That is why I ask him for good health and long life so that I can complete his assignments. I love my work. I love my priesthood. I love my SVD congregation.
By Fr. Andrew Campbell SVD
SVD IBP 