Matthew Ayariga: US Catholic Diocese in Texas Names New Parish After Ghanaian Martyr

• The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas has established a new parish named after Ghanaian martyr Matthew Ayariga, who was killed by ISIS in Libya in 2015
• Saint Matthew Ayariga Catholic Church in Arlington is the first Ghanaian National Catholic parish in the United States
• The Ghanaian community in North Texas has been gathering for Twi-language Mass since 2007

More than a decade after he was executed by ISIS militants on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the name of Ghanaian martyr Matthew Ayariga has been given a permanent home in the United States through the establishment of a Catholic parish bearing his name.

The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas has created Saint Matthew Ayariga Catholic Church in Arlington, a new parish dedicated to serving the Ghanaian Catholic community in North Texas.

The North Texas Catholic noted that this is the first Ghanaian National Catholic parish in the United States and the first parish anywhere in the world to be founded under the patronage of Ayariga.

Read also

Ayariga outlines potential roadmap for completion of National Cathedral project

Ayariga was a Ghanaian migrant worker living in Libya when he was abducted by ISIS alongside a group of other Christian men in 2015.

He was subsequently decapitated alongside 20 Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians in one of the most widely reported atrocities of that period.

What set Ayariga apart was a moment his captors reportedly gave him before the killings. According to accounts of the executions, he was offered an opportunity to be spared if he renounced his Christian faith.

He refused, choosing instead to stand firm in his belief, a decision that cost him his life but secured him a lasting place in the memory of the global Christian community as a symbol of martyrdom and courage.

A Parish Decades in the Making

The Bishop of Fort Worth, in announcing the new parish, described the moment as significant for the life of the Church and said the congregation would provide a spiritual home for the expanding Ghanaian Catholic population in the region.

The roots of the community stretch back to 2007, when Ghanaian Catholics in the area began gathering weekly at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Arlington for Mass celebrated in the Twi language. The arrangement grew steadily over the years through a working partnership between the Diocese of Fort Worth and the Archdiocese of Kumasi, which supplied priests to minister to the community.

Read also

Ghanaian pastor found dead in Nigeria after more violent attacks

As the congregation continued to expand, the need for a dedicated permanent parish became clear, leading to the formal establishment of Saint Matthew Ayariga Catholic Church.

Beyond worship, the parish is intended to serve as a cultural anchor for Ghanaian Catholics living far from home, offering a space where the sacraments, traditions and faith heritage of the community can be preserved and passed on to younger generations.

Source: YEN.com.gh