The Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Campbell, SVD, Chairman of the Lepers’ Aid Committee and Priest-in-Charge of the St. Jude Catholic Church in Accra has met Pope Francis in a private Audience in Rome.
He was accompanied by Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Merene Botsio Benyah, her husband, Mr. Henry Benyah and some Board Members of the Lepers’ Aid Committee.
Fr. Campbell said the encounter with the Holy Father marked for him the highlight of over five decades of tirelessly caring for lepers in Ghana.
“When I realised I was 50 years taking care of the lepers at Weija, I said, I must do something to commemorate 50 years of serving the marginalized in Weija. So I said, let me go to Rome. Let me go and meet the Holy Father,” he recounted.
“I always admired him. He’s a man of the poor. He’s a man of the poor. A man of the marginalised, you know and I wanted one day to shake hands with him. So, that’s the reason why I wanted to come to Rome and that’s what I did today. I feel so happy,” he added, expressing his admiration for the Pontiff’s commitment to social justice.
Fr. Campbell said the meeting was characterised by warmth and genuine concern. “It was a little chat with them, you know, we were five of us. He just had a chat with us, he listened to us,” Fr. Campbell recalled, highlighting the Pope’s ability to make everyone feel valued and understood.
He said he shared insights into his work with the lepers of Ghana with the Pope and the challenges the most vulnerable members of society face.
“I talked about my work with the lepers. We have been working in different settlements in Ghana. How we take care of them and look after them. How they are marginalised and how they are forgotten.”
He continued that, “I talked about the most neglected people, you know, in Ghana. And then I’m always begging for assistance because the cost of drugs, the cost of food, the cost of utilities and others are high. I told him I am a begger priest. Always asking people to come and help in one way or the other. So I told him about the lepers and the hundred thousand street children on the streets of Accra. I work with prostitutes. I work with prisoners. So I mentioned all these people.”
In response, Pope Francis offered words of encouragement, saying “Encouraged, don’t give up. Keep on going. Keep on going. Keep on going, don’t give up, don’t give up.”
“You are brave Father. What did Jesus do? Jesus’ work was a work of healing. Bringing love and hope and care to the poor and the needy. You’re doing the work of Jesus,” Pope Francis said.
Reflecting on the experience, Fr. Campbell likened the papal encounter as sitting with a saint. “It was like sitting with a Saint, you know, this man is such a wonderful man. A man of prayer. A man of courage. And it was just wonderful, just being in his library, sitting down beside him in his office and chatting with him. It is certainly something I will never forget in my life,” Fr. Campbell expressed his joy.
