By Wilfred Lawrence D’Souza and Fr Amos Cornelius Sikar
GREENVILLE, FEBRUARY 19, 2026 (CISA) – The Catholic Diocese of Cape Palmas in southeastern Liberia has concluded its Fifth Annual Diocesan Youth Festival with a strong call for young people to embrace servant leadership and assume responsibility for the future of the Church. The February 10 to 15, 2026 gathering, held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Greenville, brought together 220 young Catholics from nine parishes under the theme, “Servant Leadership: Leading with a Heart,” inspired by John 12:4–5 and 15:17.
Introduced by Rt. Rev. Andrew J. Karnley, Bishop of Cape Palmas the annual festival has become a key platform for spiritual renewal and leadership formation in the diocese. This year’s attendance dropped from 500 participants in 2025 to 220, largely due to transportation and distance challenges. Many participants travelled nearly a full day along rough dirt roads to reach Greenville, the only Catholic parish in Sinoe County.
In his address, Diocesan Youth Coordinator Fr. Ernest Wisner underscored the importance of youth formation, stating that the Church’s future depends on its young members.
“A Church without youth does not have a future,” he said, noting that the diocesan bishop is entrusting the mission of the local Church to the younger generation.
The five-day programme featured daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, confessions, catechetical sessions, vocation talks, and recreational activities. A Diocesan Youth Assembly Convention formed a central component, with delegates deliberating on leadership development, pastoral priorities, and strategies to strengthen youth participation at parish level.
Presiding over the opening Mass, host pastor Fr. Amos Cornelius Sikar reminded participants that the Church belongs to them as much as to the clergy. In a keynote presentation on servant leadership, he contrasted Christian leadership with secular models of power, drawing from Matthew 20:26–28 to emphasize humility, sacrifice, and love as the foundations of authentic Christian service.
Sessions on vocations and the sacraments were facilitated by Fr. Christopher Harmon and Sr. Benetta Dweh, while William Mentor Flomo, President of the Monrovia Archdiocesan Youth, called for stronger collaboration among Liberia’s three Catholic dioceses and proposed the revival of a National Catholic Youth Festival.
The festival also featured a public Rosary procession through Greenville, inter-denominational football matches, cultural competitions, and doctrinal quizzes. It concluded with a closing Mass and a Diocesan King and Queen contest, where Emmanuel Teah and Philomena Toe of St. Joseph Parish were crowned Youth King and Queen, the first time the host parish claimed both titles.
Organizers described the 2026 Youth Festival as a moment of spiritual renewal and unity, reaffirming the diocese’s commitment to forming young leaders rooted in faith, integrity, and service.
The Catholic Diocese of Cape Palmas is one of three Catholic dioceses in Liberia, alongside the Archdiocese of Monrovia and the Diocese of Gbarnga. Located in the remote southeastern region of the country, the diocese covers Maryland, Grand Kru, River Gee, and Sinoe counties.
Missionary work in Cape Palmas is particularly challenging due to limited infrastructure and poor connectivity in many areas. In some riverine communities, clergy and pastoral agents must travel up to three hours by canoe to reach outstations. The diocese has 21 priests serving scattered and often inaccessible communities, supported by missionary congregations including the Society of African Missions (SMA), the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), and the Missionaries of Charity.
Despite logistical and financial constraints, the diocese remains committed to evangelization, youth formation, and pastoral outreach in one of Liberia’s most geographically demanding regions.
