Monsignor Francis Twum-Barimah wasn’t expecting parishioners at St. Bernard of Clairveaux in Bergen Beach to get so emotional, but he was too.
“I was tearing within me even though it didn’t come out. I was quite emotional; it was so impressive,” Msgr. Twum-Barimah said. “It made me feel that they appreciate what I have done so far with them.”
It’s his last day as a visiting priest at the church. When he came for the first time last year, he was here for 5 months—so these last 6 weeks flew by.
Msgr. Twum-Barimah needed to take some time off last summer to recover from brain surgery. Before doctors removed a tumor, they laid out the possible outcomes.
“I woke up one morning and I was going blind,” Msgr. Twum-Barimah said. “The doctors told me it was 50/50, either you survive or you don’t, either you become a vegetable or you don’t.”
Msgr. Twum-Barimah has since made a full recovery. It’s hard to believe, but he came to Brooklyn for some peace and quiet and, in many ways, is getting back to his roots.
“It’s very quiet over here. I enjoyed the peace and quiet because I wasn’t home thinking about what the itinerary was. I just turned my mind off.”
He grew up farming with his family in rural Ghana, growing crops like cocoa and plantains. He traded in those days to plant different seeds, hoping instead to grow the faith of God’s people.
“I helped my parents on the farm.,” Msgr. Twum-Barimah said. “That’s what I grew up with. Even as a priest, I took interest in farming. That has been my major hobby; it’s been part of me.”
The interactions and relationships he’s formed are the fruits of his labor.
“The idea is growing what God has entrusted to you, making it useful,” Msgr. Twum-Barimah said. “I hope the seeds that I have planted here will germinate and grow.”
Msgr. Twum-Barimah is now back in his home diocese in eastern Ghana, where he serves as the Vicar General.
He said, God willing, he’ll be back in Brooklyn next summer.