Pilgrimage to Nauli

Once a year the whole Arch-Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi is asked to go to Nauli, a town deep in the Western Region very close to the border with Cote D’Ivoire, to celebrate at the large shrine devoted to our Lady of Fatima. So for three days thousands of people from our area flock to Nauli to pray to the Blessed Virgin and celebrate Mass.
So all us at Moreau House decided that we would go on the last day of the pilgrimage. I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact I had just arrived back to the house after being in Cape Coast for a few days to spend time with Br. Richard, so it was a big surprise to hear that we would be traveling.
We would be spending most of the day out in Nauli, which is about a two hour drive from Takoradi, so we packed food and drinks the night before so that we could nourish ourselves while there. We were all pretty excited when we went to bed the night before, except for the fact that we had to get up at about 4A.M., anapatutu “early morning” in Fante.
4 a.m. came pretty quickly. I threw on some clothes. We packed the car and then we were off to Anaji to meet up with Br. Joachim, the electrical teacher at Skills and missionary brother form Bangladesh, so we could set out together. The interesting thing was that none of us were exactly sure how to get there. Br. Joachim had been there before, but even he wasn’t totally sure. So we set out on the main highway , the official West African highway, and hoped Br. Joachim remembered everything.
Br. Joachim was actually bringing some of the boys from the Home of Hope, the residence for some of our Skills students, to Nauli and he didn’t have enough room for them all so we took a few. So after that we finally set out.
It was turning out to be a beautiful day. I once again learned why the Western Region is the region that brings in the most money for Ghana. The vegetation is so thick and the resources are plenty. I just stared out my window as we drove past the different rubber plantations at the endless rows of rubber trees.
It was a very peaceful drive except for the occasional oversized semi that likes to run all the other cars off of the road. Don’t ask me why. The road isn’t exactly large, but still these drivers seem to enjoy making the hearts of other drivers skip a beat.
We only made one wrong turn during the whole drive. The place was definitely off the beaten path, which for the purposes of a pilgrimage is a good thing I think. We drove our van down a very bump dirt road around a small curve towards the entrance of the place. It was a narrow road that led to the entrance and everybody that was arriving was trying to find a decent parking spot, and there were very few of those. Of course, the majority of people had just taken a tro-tro or “207” to Nauli and walked the rest of the way.
The best way that I can describe the place is like the grounds for a county fair and an amphitheatre placed very naturally into a valley.( I hope the pictures can do it for you.) The were a good number of people there when we arrived and it was obvious that it was turning out to be a very hot day.
After walking around the place for a while we, the Skills boys, the pre-novices, and myself, found a place to sit high up towards the top of the concrete steps that led up the valley opposite the open ended chapel where Arch Bishop John Martin Darko would be celebrating Mass shortly. It was difficult to see who was who from where we were, but at least we would have shade for the longest possible time. I said the Rosary to myself and observed the layout before Mass began.
The open ended chapel was in the middle of the valley on a flat piece of land. On the second floor of the chapel was a balcony with a small room where people could go adoration. Just behind the chapel there is a steep rising hill and at the top of the hill is a massive crucifix. Many people walked up that hill to pray at the feet of Jesus all throughout the day.
Once everyone got settled there were probably about 1,000+ people gathered. The procession at the beginning of Mass was quite impressive. It began on our side of the valley down to the chapel. The Mass servers were looking very sharp, carrying the crucifix high as they made their way down the hill. Following them was an honor guard of Girl Scouts, a large choir, the Knights of the Church ( I am unsure which they were), just about every priest from the diocese, and of course Archbishop.
The Mass went for about 3 ½ hours, by which time there was no shelter from the sun. Unfortunately, the Mass was in three languages none of which were English. In our diocese Fante is the vernacular but in this part of the Western Region Nzema is the vernacular. Also, since there were a considerable amount of people from Cote D’Ivoire present French was also spoken. And since there were only three non-Africans present, Fr. Bob, Br. Joachim, and I, English was left out.
With the help of those around me and from my extensive experience with Fante I was able to follow along with the celebration, I use the word celebration because there were a lot of things added to the Mass. Of course there was an incredible amount of singing and dancing which took up most of the time. I didn’t really partake in the dancing, but I just admired the beautiful scenery and watched the people rejoicing under the sun. I moved myself out from under the shade and into the sun for a while to try and absorb some of the energy. I felt completely contented, so comfortable amongst the people….”I know these people, we danced together, we sang together, we rejoiced in the presence of our God together…peace”
With these kinds of thoughts running across my mind I was unable to come to my senses and realize that I was being burned to a crisp! HAHA
So after the Mass, we all headed back to the van together to have some lunch. I laughed when I stood back and realized it was like a Holy tailgate! We gathered around the van eating and drinking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It was very nice! Many people laughed and smiled as they past us by on their way home.
I tried my best to stay awake for the ride home, but eventually I fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke the feeling of peace had never left.