The man Peter Cardinal Dery- Cardinal Dery chalked up 5 firsts

Page 19: March 31, 2008.
Peter Cardinal Porekuu Dery was born in Zemuopare, a village five miles from Nandom in the Upper West Region of Ghana, on May 10, 1918 to Porekuu Theodore and Zoore Agnes. He was the fourth of 10 boys. His father Porekuu and his uncle Mwankuri-Naa were steeped in the Dagaaba Traditional Religion. Both were successful fetish priests and young Dery developed so much interest in the religious activities of his father and uncle that he was "initiated" by his uncle as his personal "acolyte". He thus travelled with his uncle to wherever people invited him to install these fetishes, namely; Konkpenebie, Kokyekonno, Sokyere, Doosoglaa, and Nyogebaliere.
His father Porekuu was also a trader in salt and kola. To promote his trade he sometimes sold things on credit. On one of his visits to Jirapa to check on some of his creditors, Porekuu got to hear about the activities of some white-men who had settled there and were preaching a new religion. Porekuu’s curiosity and interest in this new religion led to his being introduced to the leader of the missionaries, Fr. R. McCoy.As things turned out, Porekuu will eventually be the one to bring others from the Nandom area to embrace the new religion in spite of the great opposition from his senior brother, Mwankuri-Naa.
Young Dery switched allegiance and joined his father on his visits to Jirapa to learn more about the new religion. After successfully going through the catechumenate, Dery together with others was accepted for baptism on Christmas Eve, December, 24 1932. Thus young Dery was among the first 12 people to be baptised in the then North -West of the Gold Coast which today is the Upper West Region.
SCHOOLING:
Dery had the chance to work with the Missionaries in Jirapa. While there he was enlisted into the Catechists' School in 1932. He was determined to learn the English language. The Missionaries observed that he had the interest and ability to read and write. In 1934 he was sent to the Junior School in Navrongo. He completed his studies in 1939 and by that time his desire to become a priest had heightened. He entered the Minor Seminary "cum" Training College at Navrongo and after two years of study he was moved to St. Theresa’s Minor / Major Seminary at Amisano, near Cape Coast, to begin his philosophical and theological studies.
In 1946 all the Seminarians from the Apostolic Vicariate of Navrongo were moved from Cape Coast back to the Vicariate to begin the Major Seminary at Wiagha, St. Victor’s Major Seminary. After successfully completing his seminary formation in 1950, Dery was ordained priest on February 11, 1951 at St. Theresa’s Church, Nandom, by Rt. Rev. Gerard Bertrand, (M. Afr.) then Vicar Apostolic of Navrongo. This was a historic event among the Dagaabas, because Fr. Dery was the first Dagao to be ordained priest in the new religion.
MINISTRY
Fr. Dery was first posted to Nandom as a curate and appointed an Assistant General
Manager of Catholic Schools in the Tamale Diocese. He loved his work as a Local Manager of Schools. His visits to the schools exposed him and endeared him to the teachers and the pupils. It is not surprising that many of the boys and girls later opted to become priests and religious brothers and sisters.
In 1957, Fr. Dery was transferred to Kaleo as the first African Parish Priest in the diocese of Tamale. He had barely settled down when a scholarship was granted him by the Knights of Columbus to study the Credit Union Movement and Co-operative Management at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1958 he was awarded a Diploma in Social Studies.
His next point of call was to the International Catechetical Institute - Lumen Vitae, in Brussels, Belgium. After a year of studies in Catechetics and Pastorals, Fr. Dery returned to Ghana in 1959. The bishop immediately appointed him Vicar General and Cathedral Administrator respectively.
Around this time there was a move to split the diocese of Tamale and the authorities thought it would be better to start the new diocese with an indigenous bishop. The lot fell on Fr. Dery even though he made several attempts to turn down this nomination. On November 3, 1959 the Diocese of Wa was created with Fr. Dery becoming its first Bishop elect.
On May 8, 1960 Msgr. Dery was ordained Bishop by Pope John XXIII, (now Blessed
John XXIII) in Rome. On June 1l, 1960 Bishop Dery was installed the first bishop of the Diocese of Wa. His love for people and the fact that he had such a fantastic memory with regard to names of people and other relevant events turned his name into a household word.
He asked and got the permission from Rome to have the liturgical celebration translated into Dagaare and because he was a musician he composed liturgical songs in Dagaare which were accompanied with the traditional instruments (drums and xylophones). People felt at home and derived so much spiritual fulfilment from the liturgy from then on.
He promoted education and established many schools like St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Wa, St. Francis Girls' Secondary in Jirapa; hospitals, clinics, vocational institutions and so on for the integral development of peoples. Bishop Dery had hardly completed his tenth anniversary as Bishop of Wa when the rumour mill of his transfer was set into motion. As the saying goes "there is no smoke without fire". In 1972 he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Tamale diocese following the resignation of Rt. Rev. Gabriel Champagne, M. Afr., Bishop of Tamale due to ill-health. Because Bishop Dery was now the Administrator of Tamale he had to move between Wa and Tamale respectively to carry out his duties as head shepherd of the two dioceses.
Bishop Dery participated in the Second Vatican Council, 1962 to 1965. On November 18, 1974 he was officially transferred to Tamale. He became the Metropolitan Archbishop when the Diocese of Tamale was elevated to an Archdiocese on May 30th, 1977. Archbishop Dery was the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference from 1982 to 1988. When he turned 75 he tended in his resignation letter in accordance with Canon 401 § 1 but before he could get a reply from the Vatican he suffered a stroke in 1994. He officially resigned on March 26, 1994.
YEARS OF RETIREMENT
From 1994 until his death he lived a very "active ministry" from within his residence He continued to receive visitors and celebrated many marriages and baptisms. His zeal and love for people did not go unnoticed by the authorities that be. To his surprise and the surprise of others he was created a Cardinal Deacon in the Consistory of March 24, 2006. He went to Rome on a wheel chair to receive the red bieratta from the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
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AWARDS
As Priest, Bishop, Archbishop and Cardinal his Eminence has distinguished himself by his “qualities of discipline, forthrightness, integrity and love for humanity" that have won him the love and respect of Christians and non-Christians alike.
As a result of his unique contribution to the promotion of the integral development of the human person, His Eminence Peter Cardinal Dery has received several awards and
recognitions.
1. State Award of Grand Medal (Civil Division) from the Head of State of the Republic of Ghana, January 13, 1974.
2. Honorary Degree, Doctor of Law (LLD) by St. Francis Xavier University in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.
3. Award by the Association of Credit Unions and Cooperatives in Africa
(ACOSCA).
4. In 2007 he was honoured with membership of the Order of the Star of Ghana
(OSG) for his immense contribution to the development of the country.
MAJOR APPOINTMENTS: CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS
l. Appointed Member of the Council of State in 1972
2. Appointed Member of the Ghana Education Service Council for seven years
3. Appointed Member of the Advisory Panel for the Eventual rehabilitation of the
Volta Basin for Agriculture (Ghana); a World Bank Project
4. Appointed Member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity for seven years; by
Pope Paul VI and later by Pope John Paul II.
5. Served as President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference for two terms
6. Bishop in-charge of Lay Formation in the Apostolate with specific reference to
The Formation of the Adult Laity and the Youth in Ghana for twenty-two years. In
this capacity he was instrumental for the development of the structures of the
National Laity Council (NLC), the Ghana National Youth Council (GHANCYC)
and the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW).
7. Bishop Treasurer of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and
Madagascar (SECAM)
8. Co-ordinator of the Pan African Laity Council Board responsible for organising
The African Lay Apostolate in 9 zones of Africa.

"THE GREAT FIVE- TIMES FIRST”
. He was among the First Baptised Dagaabas
. He was the First Dagao Priest
. He was the First Dagao Bishop
. He was the First Dagao Archbishop
. He was the First Dagao Cardinal

HOME CALL:
Last year Peter Cardinal Dery slipped and fell and had a problem with his hip. Even though he was determined to be on his feet again that never happened. He was bedridden for the last seven months. He endured so much pain having to lie in one place. But thanks to the nurses - Sr. Delphina Zoomie, SMI, Madam Seraphine Fiirter, Madam Rose Kasei, Madam Albertina Ninnang, also Dr. Augustine Kabir (his personal physician), Mr.Thaddeus Yelewere (his physiotherapist), Mr. Dominic Gyereh (his Driver), Mr. Mark Attabeh (his personal Secretary for years), Mr.Abraham Sayibu (his Cook), Madam Georgina (Laundry woman), Sr. Euphresia Yinye, SMI, (Caretaker) and the numerous well wishers - he was never lonely. Every person whose life Peter Cardinal Dery touched also duly paid his or her dues to him at the time that he needed them most. May the good Lord bless all these generous and wonderful people.
On March 6th, while Ghana was celebrating her 51st Independence anniversary Peter
Cardinal Dery breathed his last at exactly 6.20 pm assisted by Madam Seraphine Fiirter, Sr.Delphina and Fr. Alphonsus B. Dakora
Peter Cardinal Dery was very fond of the phrase THANK YOU and he is certainly telling each one of you THANK YOU FOR COMING TO SEE ME OFF until we meet AGAIN. GOD IS INDEED GREAT!!!