The mortal remains of Sr. Martina Naameh of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate (SMI) were laid to rest on Friday, May 29, 2026, after a burial Mass at the Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Minor Basilica, Navrongo.
The Mass was attended by five Prelates, including the Most Rev. Philip Naameh, Archbishop of Tamale, Sisters of the Mary Immaculate Congregation, Priests and Religious from within and outside the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, political leaders, chiefs, the family of the deceased, and the lay faithful of the Diocese.
Sr. Naameh hailed from Piina in the Upper West Region. Born with her twin brother Martin, she was the immediate younger sibling of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, Archbishop Naameh.
In his sermon, the host Bishop, the Most Rev. Alfred Agyenta, described Sr. Martina as a true missionary who gave her whole life to serve God’s people. She integrated herself fully into the culture she found.
According to the Bishop, by giving her all to the mission, she reminds us that the Church is a missionary institution. Even when described as an “old, young missionary,” Sr. Martina showed that when age and strength failed, her mere presence in the community was still deeply appreciated.
Unlike some missionaries who long to return to their biological culture, Sr. Martina gave her service to her mission work in totality, and Navrongo became her home, he stated.
The Bishop urged the people of God to, within human possibility, make missionaries feel comfortable among them in their various cultures, rather than frustrating them to the point of returning to their home diocese.
He lamented that some missionaries, after being sent home at a certain age, often feel rejected and lost among their own people. When this continues, the Church moves into a society where people are valued more for what they have and can do than for who they are, he indicated.
This, Bishop Agyenta noted, was the concern of Pope Francis that led him to establish the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, reminding us of the gift of the elderly and how we can benefit from their experience.
He thanked the local church of the Basilica for welcoming and supporting Sr. Martina and the SMI sisters before her.
Turning to the Word of God from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Matthew 11:25-30, the Bishop stated two outstanding messages, the first calls on all to console one another, as seen in the first reading, where St. Paul urges the people of Thessalonica.
The second is to fix our gaze on Christ, reflecting the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus calls us to learn from Him, for He is meek and gentle of heart. 
He emphasised that the Christian funeral liturgy is more for those who are still alive – to help us fix our lives on God’s way, just as St. Paul exhorted the people.
He noted that “As Christians who believe in the resurrection, we should be consoled that the dead are not lost but have gone ahead to the Father.”
“By virtue of the sacrament of baptism, the seal of immortality and the seed of the resurrection are sown in us. We die with Christ at baptism and will rise with Him on the last day. This is the basis of St. Paul’s exhortation for us to console one another in times of death,” he added.
For Bishop Agyenta, it was impressive to see hundreds of Priests present at the funeral and encouraged them to be true professionals in consoling the bereaved.
People come to Christian funerals to be consoled and comforted for the loss of a loved one. As such, priests need to prepare their homilies adequately, he advised, acknowledging that, looking at our culture, there are many ways in which we console ourselves – through music, food, and drinks – but we must do this with a true sense of comfort for the bereaved.
Bishop Agyenta exhorted the mourners to appreciate the fact that the real consolation of the day was to mourn Sr. Martina with the hope that she would find the joy of the resurrection promised to her by Jesus.
With all that Sr. Martina did, even in her last days, she still tried to solicit support to renovate the Navrongo SMI Convent. To her, the Lord now says: “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest, for I am meek and gentle of heart.”
Sr. Martina Naameh joined the SMI Congregation in 1969, made her first profession in 1973, and her final profession in 1982. She celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1998 and her Golden Jubilee in 2023.
Between her first profession and her Jubilee, she pursued teacher training, religious formation, counselling, and other human and social development courses both within Ghana and abroad. Through this, she served for many years in the Ghana Education Service (GES) while dedicating herself to her congregation in leadership as a formator and counsellor. She also served two terms as Assistant Superior General of the SMI. 
In these capacities, she was a visionary, disciplinarian, firm decision-maker, mentor, guide, and fearless leader. Her service was concentrated mainly in the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province, with most of it spent in the Navrongo–Bolgatanga Diocese.
Though she came from a Dagara background, Martina immersed herself in the Kasem culture and spoke Kasem fluently, like her mother tongue. She spent most of her life in that environment, and Navrongo became her home. It was there she wished to spend her last days, and by God’s grace, that dream came true.
Sr. Martina nurtured and encouraged many young people she encountered, never giving up after a few failures. This was expressed in the numerous tributes on social media since her demise. Many of those young people now hold responsible positions in society – as lawyers, health personnel, educators, priests, religious, and politicians, just to mention a few.
Her optimism also carried her through years of ill health. She fought for several years, seeking medical advice from professionals, some of whom she herself had nurtured.
With her life of service, discipline, and love, she truly finished her race well.
By: Sr. Juliana A. Atuuna, SMI (Catholic Sister Communicators Network, Ghana- CASCON-GH)
