A thanksgiving Mass has been held for the Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien, Bishop Emeritus of Ghana’s Catholic Diocese of Wiawso during which his successor described his 23 years of service as the first Bishop of Wiawso as “no mean achievement”.
The Most Rev. Samuel Nkuah-Boateng, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso speaking at the Thanksgiving Mass at the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral at Sefwi Wiawso on Saturday, February 3, 2024, eulogised Bishop Essien for his foresight and good thoughts for Diocese since its erection in December 1999.
He thanked God for the wisdom bestowed on Bishop Essien to shepherd the Diocese for 23 years, saying, “Even in my 10th month of episcopal ordination and installation as Bishop isn’t easy, how much more 23 years; an indication that it is no mean achievement.”
He prayed that the gifts and talents God had given to Bishop Essien would continue to be used to lift the Diocese even in his retirement and commended him for his exemplary leadership skills and hard work over the years, assuring him that he would continue with his good works.
The Mass was purposely to thank God for the life and gift of Bishop Essien in his 23 years of episcopal service to the Wiawso Church and the Church and Ghana as a whole.
In a homily, Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Asare, Parish Priest of St. Peter’s Parish at Sefwi Asawinso, thanked God for the life of Bishop Essien whom he said God had blessed with good health for the past 23 years.
“In all things, we need to give thanks to God for His manifold blessings on Bishop Essien for his selfless service to the people of God entrusted to him,” he stated, lauding the Bishop Emeritus for the numerous spiritual and developmental projects he had brought to the Diocese since its creation.
The creation of the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso was conceived in 1994 by the then Bishop, Rt. Rev. Charles Kweku Sam of blessed memory.
The sudden death of Bishop Sam on January 13, 1998, brought this beautiful idea to a standstill. However, when Bishop John Martin Darko took over as the 3rd Bishop of Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese on July 11, 1998, he worked tirelessly to bring the dream of his predecessor to a reality.
Therefore, Holy Father Pope John Paul II, now St. John Paul II, created the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso and appointed Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien as her first Bishop on December 22, 1999. The diocese was officially inaugurated with the ordination and installation of the Bishop Essien on March 25, 2000.
The Principal Consecrator at his episcopal ordination and installation was then Archbishop Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast now Cardinal and his Principal Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Dominic Kodwo Andoh, Archbishop of Accra and Archbishop André Pierre Louis Dupuy, Titular Archbishop of Selsea, then Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana.
As a Bishop, he has held several positions including heading the Cape Coast Province’s Department for Judicial Matters and member of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference’s Department of Pastoral Ministry and Evangelization.
Following his resignation as the first Bishop of the diocese, the Holy Father, Pope Francis on January 26, 2023, appointed Very Rev. Fr. Samuel Nkuah-Boateng as the second Bishop of the Diocese of Wiawso. Bishop Emeritus Essien was the Principal Co-Consecrator of Bishop Nkuah-Boateng on Friday, April 23, 2023 at the St. Joseph Senior High School, Sefwi Datano.
By Damian Avevor (Sefwi Wiawso)
