When Clement Baffoe was growing up in a small village in Ghana, he had not much interest in his Catholic faith and would not have predicted that in 2017 he would be in Melbourne, Australia, completing his formation to become a missionary priest.

“Faith was part of my growing up but not taken seriously since my parents were Catholics but were not ardent ones,” he says. “I went to Church when I wanted. I preferred to go to a fetish shrine and enjoy myself because there were many more shrines with attractive activities in my village than churches.”

Clement says he first had the idea of a priestly vocation when his uncle was ordained a priest in 2000.

“The crowd that trooped to my village during his thanksgiving Mass, but more specifically, the procession of well-dressed priests attracted me the most,” he laughs. “But sometimes God calls in different ways that may seem illogical to humans.

“I chose to join the SVD based on the encounter I had with some Divine Word Missionary priests who were the first to man my village church. “

Clement attended the diocesan minor seminary for four years, but still felt drawn to a more concrete encounter of community life and service, such as he had seen with the SVDs in his parish.

He formally joined the SVD Ghana province in July 2011, studying Philosophy and completing his novitiate, before taking first vows in 2015.

“What I have so far loved about my vocation journey and missionary life is the sense of belonging that characterises the SVD,” he says. “Moreover, the readiness of community members to share their talents to build one another brings me rich experiences.

“It is my desire to teach in the future in whatever area I am called to because, it is in sharing we receive. I pray to be of service to all those I encounter.”