Joseph Ganda

Joseph Henry Ganda (born 22 March 1932 in Serabu, Bo District, Sierra Leone) was the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo.[1]

Born in the village Serabu in the Bo district, he was the first in the area to study for the priesthood. He completed seminary training at Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu, Nigeria in 1955 returning home a Deacon.

On 9 April 1961 he was ordained the first priest of Sierra Leone (just two weeks before its political independence). He was made the first Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Kenema in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone in 1971.[2]

On 23 November 1980 he was installed as the first native-born archbishop of the Archdiocese of Freetown in Sierra Leone.[1] While archbishop, Ganda oversaw the construction of the St. Paul Cathedral in Kenema, the St. Paul's Seminary in Regent, Freetown, and he is credited with encouraging young people to join the service of the Church, either as priests or nuns.[2]

He retired 2 March 2007, after almost thirty-six years of Catholic ministry. He was replaced as archbishop by Edward Tamba Charles.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Fyle, C. Magbaily (2006), Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc
  2. 1 2 3 "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SIERRA LEONE". Catholic Bishop's Conference of Sierra Leone. Retrieved 6 January 2011.


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