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The new parochial vicar (associate pastor) at St. Mary's parish in Oneonta is prepared for anything that may fall into his lap.

In his native Ghana, Rev. Bernard Osei Ampong ministered to Catholics at 17 different churches simultaneously. When the roads weren't suited for travel by car, he walked up to an hour, sometimes in heavy rain.

"That's what makes you a hardworking person," Father Ampong said of that ministry. "It demands a lot of sacrifice. But it's a joy."

He noted that people in the rural areas of Ghana, who cannot afford to support permanent priests, tend to walk to most places themselves: "You want to identify yourself with them so you're a part of them. The people appreciate that."

Now approaching his fifth year in the United States, Father Ampong uses lessons learned back home and here to help Rev. Joseph Benintende, pastor of St. Mary's, administer the sacraments.

Father Ampong applied to serve in the Albany Diocese not long ago and, this summer, was appointed to serve at St. Mary's. He also plans to work at the Newman Centers at Hartwick College and Oneonta State College.

Clerical model
Father Ampong knew early on that God was calling him to become a priest. During his childhood in Kuffour Camp, a village of about 3,000 people, a visiting priest named Rev. Philip Boateng taught evening catechism classes and offered confession to his Akan tribe. It inspired the young man.

"I began to like the way he would do his instruction - his manners, his gentleness," Father Ampong said. "I would tell myself, 'I want to be like this.' I saw this holiness. That began to build up in me."

The Ampong family moved to the capital city of Kumasi when he was in high school. He became an altar server, and other priests continued to inspire him.

Father Ampong was accepted into seminary immediately after graduating from high school at age 24, which is a common practice in his native country, when schooling may start late or be intermittent.

With his degree came acceptance into a sociology and religion program affiliated with the University of Ghana. His mornings brimmed with seminary lectures, afternoons with university lectures, evenings with prayers and seminary programs.

After being ordained in the late 1990s at age 32, Father Ampong served as a substitute teacher at his parish's high school. His bishop sent him to the Diocese of Syracuse four years ago to minister to St. Joseph's parish in Rome, N.Y., and study at LeMoyne College in Syracuse.

He now holds a Master's degree in education and is one course away from a certificate in school administration, as well.

In addition to teaching high school catechism classes in Rome, Father Ampong also celebrated Masses at nursing homes. "It opened my eyes to the needs of the old people," he said. "We need to take good care of them."

He originally intended to return to Ghana to involve clergy in education, but he decided to stay on to finish his studies. Besides, he likes working in America and finds that his advanced degrees are helpful on the job.

"Education will help you as a priest to become effective in your ministry," Father Ampong said. "Knowledge is power."

The priest feels he now knows how to relate to both younger and older populations through his work at the nursing home and through adult education programs.

Some cultural differences have taken Father Ampong by surprise. For instance, at an American Mass, most people will receive communion, while in Ghana, not even half do so.

This may illustrate a struggle between faith and tradition, Father Ampong said: Since many men in Ghana marry two women, those who do so may feel unworthy to receive given Church teachings on marriage.

The priest was also struck by the high number of eucharistic and other lay ministers in American parishes. In Ghana, most parishes generally lack eucharistic ministers, but have "catechists" to run communion services in the absence of a priest.

Acclimating
"I saw it as a learning experience," Father Ampong said of such differences. "I opened my eyes and learned."

The other clergy at the Rome parish helped acclimate him to the ways of the American Church: "It all depends on the people you work with."

Father Ampong has also refined his English skills in the U.S. Though he learned English in elementary school and it's considered the first language in Ghana, it's not always spoken in homes, where native tongues may predominate. He spoke Akan (Twi) at home.

Father Ampong's goals here are the same as those he had in Ghana.

"As ministers," he said, "we need to help build the Church. As a priest, I see my work as building on the good work that others began. That is what I'm here for - nothing more, nothing less."[[In-content Ad]]

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