The Catholic Church came rather late to the Gold Coast when others had long began making in-roads to accomplish their double barreled mission to plant the Christian faith and to engage in slave trade in this part of the African continent. The Portuguese, with their eyes on gold, established themselves on the western coastline; the Protestant nations, coming later, built their forts on the eastern as the slave trade was then the main item of trade. When the Portuguese Castle at Elmina fell to the Dutch in 1637, all Catholic missionary work came to an end.
The first Catholic priest(s) to set foot in Accra may well have been in the 1570s when the Portuguese established a short-lived trading post in Accra. They held it for only 7 years when it was destroyed by the inhabitants.
About a hundred years later, in 1679 (when the Danish Governor of Christiansborg Castle was murdered by adventurers) the Castle was sold to the Portuguese. They held it for only 3 years. The Bishop of St. Thomas Island sent them a Chaplain, an African Priest. His name is not known, but he was believed to have been the first African Priest to hold an ecclesial appointment in the Accra Catholic Mission.
For almost 200 years, if Accra saw any Priest, he was no more than a traveller going ashore briefly, while his ship was unloading cargo in the harbour. There is a record of a Bishop, Jean Besueux, who, on his way to the Congo stopped in Accra to scout the possibility of opening a Mission in Accra. Father Lieberman, the founder of a Religious Congregation, had asked him to investigate but nothing came out of it.
Thirty years later, in 1878, the Superior of the Holy Ghost Fathers sent Rev. Fr. Grommendinger on an official visit to the Gold Coast, to select the most suitable sites for establishing Missions there. On his visit to Accra he was well received by both the British Governor and the Ga Chiefs. Both begged him to open a Mission in Accra. Fr. Lieberman’s plans were then made known by his Superiors, on paper, to establish the Church in Accra, Kumasi and Elmina.
But nothing came out of it as they were always short of men due to the death of many of their missionaries in other tropical African Missions. Hence, they gave up.
The Propaganda Fidei (now Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) then handed over the Gold Coast to the Society of the African Missions (SMA) who had asked for it. So, in 1880 Fathers Moreau and Murat landed at Elmina to bring the Catholic Faith to the land.
BEGINNINGS OF THE CATHOLIC MISSION UNDER SOCIETY OF AFRICAN MISSIONS (SMA) IN THE GOLD COAST
May 18, 1880: Two SMAs Missionaries; Frs. Auguste Moreau and Eugene Murat stepped on the shores of Elmina, sent by Propaganda Fidei, Rome, to bring the Catholic Church anew to the Gold Coast. After only three months Fr. Murat died of Yellow Fever.
1882: Fr. Moreau, SMA, visited Accra from Elmina to find out the possibility of starting a mission there. He was well received. Again the Governor and the Ga Chiefs asked him to establish the Church in Accra with the reason that Accra had just been made the Capital (since 1876 when the seat of government was transferred from Cape Coast) and was full of prospects. They also pointed out to Fr. Moreau that numerous immigrants had come to the city among whom many were baptized Catholics for whom a place of worship should be provided. But Fr. Moreau had few co-workers, and the deadly disease had already begun to take several to an early grave. So, Accra had to wait.
1884: He made another visit without much success
THE CHURCH IN ACCRA UNDER THE SMA
December 1891: Rev. Fr. Otto Hilberer came to Accra with the intention of founding the Church. He stayed for a week, ministering to the Catholics and searching for a site. He was not successful as the missionaries had little funds and property value in Accra was highly priced.
July 2, 1892: Six months later his prayers were answered as a Countess in France sent him a sizeable sum. On 2nd July he returned for another visit and was able to rent a suitable site.
January 31, 1893: Frs. Otto Hilberer and Eugene Raess, both SMAs, started the Catholic Mission in Accra and offered the first Holy Mass in the house of the late Chief John Quartey on Accra High Street. The Priest lost no time and opened a school. They visited parents urging them to send their boys, and as they charged no fees, and even supplied books on gratis, pupils came in ever increasing numbers.
May 25, 1893: First Baptism celebrated for Louis James Buckle.
August 24, 1894: First Marriage celebrated between Herbert Cheetham and Rose Mary Quaye.
March 1895: The Accra Church was progressing so well that by March 1895, Fr. J.B Houtman was sent to assist in the work. The Catechism had been translated into Ga, hymns composed or translated, and many of the school children were baptized and adults were coming for instruction and the services.
But then, suddenly, disaster struck, not in Accra but in the older stations in Fanteland. Yellow fever brought many Priests and Rev. Sisters to an early grave. In Cape Coast for example, all three Fathers (including the Prefect Apostolic) died. Fr. Houtman was recalled from Accra after only two months stay, to take charge of Saltpond, where both Priests had died. He too was a victim of the dreadful disease and died there within two years.
May – July 1895: Fr. Hilberer had to go on leave due to failing health and it took him two years to recuperate in Europe leaving only Fr. Raess in Accra. Later, Frs. Hilberer and Raess were asked to leave Accra for Elmina as a result of the death of five SMA missionary Priests. The small Catholic community in Accra was left in the care of a Church committee led by Messrs. Brown (then headmaster), Andoh, Yankah and others.
May 1897: Rev. Fr. Hilberer visited Accra again and for the last time. He ministered to the Faithful, bade a sad farewell and left taking along the books and furniture to Elmina. There he too fell victim to the dreadful disease only two months later. The cause of the Yellow Fever was unknown and no remedy existed so an attack was almost always fatal.
1895-1925: Accra was now an out-station, rarely visited by a Priest. The nearest residential station was Saltpond on the west, Keta on the east and Kumasi inland to the north. There were no roads, automobiles unknown; horses could not live in the tsetsefly infected land. There is record of a Priest coming to Accra by fishing boat along the coast from Cape Coast; he visited the stations along the coast, going as far as Keta. The trip took three months.
The Ga people, among whom the Church had been planted with great hope in 1893, became neglected and the early converts drifted away, joining the already well established Anglican and other Protestant Churches, or relapsing into traditional religion. It is known that a considerable number of ex-slaves, all Catholics, returned to Accra from Brazil. Since there was no active Catholic Church, they joined the Anglican Church.
1911 – 1923: Bishop Ignatius Hummel started coming to Accra as a member of the
Education Board for their meetings. He took great interest in the infant church. In spite of Bishop Hummel’s efforts, no permanent site was found and service continued to be held in various houses, first in Konduah’s, later, in the larger one owned by Mrs. Sackey, all in Jamestown, and still laterin the Sea View Hotel, near the lighthouse. One event lived long in the memory of older members: one Sunday, after service, part of the congregation fell down when the verandah collapsed. No one was seriously injured but the memory lingered on.
November 2, 1924: Renewed life came when Rev. Fr. Joseph Stauffer, SMA, then Vicar General (Bishop Hummel had died that year) came to Accra for the Board meeting. Seeing the size and importance of Accra he was determined to make it a residential station. After long negotiations, assisted by Mr. Bonito, an Italian business man based in Accra, he bought a large empty cocoa shed at Derby Avenue to be used for a place of worship for the sum of 700 British pounds (about $3,400 at that time).
May 23, 1925: The refurbished cocoa shed was dedicated by Bishop Ernest Hauger (the Fourth Vicar Apostolic of Cape Coast: 1925 – 1932). A few months later an extension to the property was acquired from Mr. Van der Puije for 1,000 Pounds Sterling, on which the old infant school was built.
January 1926: Fathers Stauffer and van der Hulst were appointed pastor and assistant pastor respectively.
1929: Bishop (later Cardinal) Hinsly came to West Africa as an Apostolic Delegate.
January 1931: The first school was opened on the Sacred Heart Church grounds, with an enrolment of 15 boys and 6 girls. By August that same year, it was recognized by the Government Education Director and placed on the Assisted List.
1931: By the end of 1931, 16 new stations were opened that saw Koforidua (now Koforidua Diocese) providing residence for Fr. John Lemmens, who came on transfer from the Keta Vicariate. Koforidua thus became the second residential station of the Accra Mission.
ACCRA MISSION UNDER THE DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES (SVD)
1938: At the request of Propaganda Fidei in Rome, the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) sent missionaries to take over the Accra Mission from the SMA in the Gold Coast.
October, 13, 1938: Two Divine Word Missionaries, Frs. August Gehring and Alphonse Elsbernd, landed in Takoradi, and the next day arrived at Sacred Heart Church. Others were to follow, after a language course in Great Britain. Their arrival marked the beginning of the take-over of the Accra Missions, from the SMA. The reason for the SVD taking over was because the SMAs did not have the men nor the funds to effectively evangelize the area. Cardinal Hinsly, on his visit, in 1929, saw this and recommended that other missionaries come to help. Frs Alphonse Elsbernd and August Gehring over the next few years ensured the growth of the Accra Mission, with the former excelling in the field of education. He founded the Catholic Mission Educational Unit and became its first General Manager.
June 1939: A severe earthquake shook all of Accra doing extensive damage. Both gables of the Sacred Heart Church collapsed and all side arches in the building cracked. The school was also damaged. Repairs cost $3500. In the meantime, services were held in the open air, under a palm branch shelter.
MOST REV. ADOLPH A. NOSER, SVD (1939 – 1953)
January 1939: Fr. Joseph Oliver Bowers, SVD, from the Commonwealth of Dominica, was the second Priest of African descent to be sent to the Accra Mission. The first priest of African descent was Fr. John Dauphine who came in 1939 together with Fr. Noser.
1940: Fr. Adolph Noser (later Bishop) met the very first infant baptized, James Buckle in 1893, as a patient in the Korle Bu Hospital. James now received First Holy Communion on a sick bed.
January 1, 1941: The Society of African Missions (SMA) ceded the eastern portion of the Vicariate of Cape Coast to the pastoral care and administration of the SVD. Fr. Adolph Noser became the Superior.
December 13, 1942: The first Accra Diocesan Priest, in the person of Fr. Bernard Sao Mensah was ordained in Cape Coast.
January 1943: Fr. Bernard Sao Mensah, the first Ghanaian Priest ordained for the Diocese, celebrated his first Holy Mass in Sacred Heart Church. He was assisted by three black SVD Priests J. Bowers, G. Wilson and J. Dauphine.
December 12, 1943: Fr. Samuel Van der Puije, the second Accra Diocesan Priest who was also the first Ga Priest, was ordained in Cape Coast. He had began his studies for the Anglican Church in England, but joined the Catholic Church. He received a rousing welcome from the Ga people, at his first Mass in Sacred Heart Church.
ACCRA AS AN APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE
February 11, 1944: A Decree from Rome raised the Accra Mission to the status of Apostolic Prefecture entrusting it to the Divine Word Missionaries. The Decree specified that the SVDs were to be in charge of “that part of the territory that comprised the whole portion of the Eastern Province of the Gold Coast Colony at the right side of the Volta.” Monsignor Adolph A. Noser, SVD, was appointed the Apostolic Prefect.
October 30, 1944: Fr. Gerard Fini, a Togolese Diocesan Priest, arrived in Accra and worked in the Mission side by side, the SVD.
February 11, 1945: Bishop Porter, SMA, of Cape Coast invested Rev. Monsignor Adolph Noser SVD as Prefect Apostolic of the newly erected Prefecture of Accra.
November 1946: A cablegram came from the SVD headquarters in Rome announcing the elevation of the Accra Apostolic Prefecture to Apostolic Vicariate, naming Msgr. Adolph Noser as the first Bishop.
August 22, 1947: Bishop-elect Adolph Noser was consecrated in the U.S.A. by Cardinal Stripes of Chicago.
September 29, 1948: Bishop Porter of Cape Coast installed Bishop Adolph Noser as Vicar Apostolic of Accra in the Sacred Heart Church, Derby Avenue.
ACCRA VICARIATE UNDER MOST REV. ADOLPH A. NOSER, SVD
April 18, 1950: Pope Pius XII raised the Apostolic Vicariate of Accra to the status of a Diocese and the Accra Diocese became suffragan diocese of the new Archdiocese of Cape Coast.
1951: Bishop Adolph Noser started building the Holy Spirit Cathedral at Adabraka, Accra.
January 8, 1953: Rev. Fr. Oliver Bowers was appointed Bishop of Accra.
January 13, 1953: Bishop Adolph Noser was transferred from Accra to Papua New Guinea as Archbishop of Alexishafen and was succeeded by Bishop Joseph Oliver Bowers, as the second Bishop of Accra.
April 22, 1953: Bishop-elect Bowers was ordained by Cardinal Spellman at the Church of Our Lady of the Gulf in Bay, St. Louis, U.S.A.
ACCRA DIOCESE UNDER MOST REV. JOSEPH OLIVER BOWERS, SVD (1953 – 1971)
September 27, 1953: Bishop Joseph Oliver, SVD, an African-Caribbean from the Commonwealth of Dominica, who was working in the Koforidua and Agomanya area, took canonical possession of the Accra Diocese in the partially completed Holy Spirit Cathedral. He became the first black bishop of the Gold Coast.
January 5, 1957: The Holy Spirit Cathedral was opened for public worship.
March 6, 1957: A thanksgiving Mass was held in the Holy Spirit Cathedral to mark the Independence Day of Ghana.
1957: Bishop Bowers founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer as the first local religious group for the diocese.
August 1962: Cardinal Giovanni Montini (later Pope Paul VI) of Milan, Italy, visited Ghana. He celebrated Holy Mass in the Holy Spirit Cathedral and blessed the Akosombo Hydro Electric Dam.
June 16-23, 1968: Accra Mission celebrated its Diamond Jubilee.
January 16, 1971: Bishop Bowers was transferred from Accra and appointed the first Bishop of St. John’s Basseterre in the West Indies.
ACCRA DIOCESE UNDER MOST REV. DOMINIC K. ANDOH (1971 – 2005)
1971: Msgr. Dominic Kodwo Andoh was appointed the third Bishop for the Diocese of Accra, following the transfer of Bishop Bowers.
October 3, 1971: Bishop Dominic K. Andoh was consecrated in the Holy Spirit Cathedral, as the first Ghanaian Bishop of Accra, by Archbishop John Kodwo Amissah of Cape Coast, assisted by Bishops Peter Dery of Wa and Joseph A. Essuah of Sekondi-Takoradi.
June 2, 1974: Solemn dedication of the Holy Spirit Cathedral by Bishop Andoh, assisted by Bishops Joseph O. Bowers, SVD, then Emeritus of Accra and Francis A. K. Lodonu of Keta-Ho Diocese.
May 8, 1980: Pope John Paul II arrived in Accra to begin a three-day Papal Visit to Ghana. He celebrated Mass the same evening at the Independence Square. His visit climaxed the Centenary celebrations of the Catholic Church in Ghana. His Holiness blessed the National Catholic Secretariat of Ghana to be known as Centenary House in Accra.
August 29, 1992: Bishop Andoh launched the year-long Centenary Celebration of the Catholic Church in Accra at the Holy Spirit Cathedral under the theme: ‘Shine in the world’ (Phil: 2: 15-16).
November 21, 1992: The Catholic Diocese of Koforidua was carved out of Accra by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Accra was elevated to a Metropolitan See and Bishop Andoh made the Metropolitan Archbishop. Very Rev. Fr. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle of Accra Diocese, then Chaplain of Achimota School, was nominated Bishop-elect for the newly created Koforidua Diocese.
January 6, 1993: Very Rev Fr. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle was ordained first Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua by His Holiness Pope John Paul II at the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
June 29, 1993: Archbishop Andoh received the Sacred Pallium of Office as Metropolitan Archbishop in Rome from the hands of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
July 25, 1993: Archbishop Dominic Andoh was enthroned the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra by Most Rev. Abraham Katumana, the then Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
August 22, 1993: Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, presided over the Thanksgiving Mass of the Centenary Celebrations of Accra Mission at the Independence Square.
May 28, 1995: For the first time in the history of the Church in Ghana, five new dioceses were simultaneously created. These were Keta-Akatsi, Jasikan, Obuasi, Konongo-Mampong and Damongo. The Episcopal ordination of the respective Bishops, namely, Anthony K. Adanuty, Gabriel Mante, Thomas Mensah, Joseph Osei-Bonsu and Philip Naameh took place at the Independence Square, Accra.
June 4, 1995: The Archbishop inaugurated the first group of Altar Girls during Holy Mass on Pentecost Sunday at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
June 23, 1995: The Lineamenta which outlined the various topics for the First Synod of the Archdiocese was launched at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
December 1996 -January 1997: The First Synod of the Catholic Archdiocese was convoked by Archbishop Dominic Andoh and was held at St. Paul’s Catholic Seminary at Sowutuom from 16th to 21st December 1996 and 1st to 4th January 1997 under the theme “Renewal of Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Accra”. The synod concluded with the publication of an outcome under the theme “Challenges and Hopes for the New Millennium”.
January 15, 1999: In accordance with the decree of the Episcopal Conference of Ghana ordering the re-organization of the structure of Tribunals in Ghana, the Decree of establishment of the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Accra Ecclesiastical Province was given by the moderator, Most Rev. Dominic K. Andoh, the Archbishop of Accra.
April 28, 1999: An Education Endowment Fund for the Archiocese later re-named Archbishop Andoh Education Endowment Fund, was launched at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
1999 – 2001: The Jubilee Celebrations launched in 1999 was concluded with an ordination and the closing of the Holy Door on the 6th January 2001.
December 7, 2002: The Archdiocese of Accra recorded its highest ordination of 10 priests.
March 30, 2005: Archbishop Andoh retired at the age of 75. Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Palmer-Buckle as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, transferring him from Koforidua Diocese.
April 14, 2005: Following Archbishop Dominic K. Andoh’s attainment of the canonical retirement age of 75, and the subsequent acceptance by the Vatican, the College of Consultors of the Archdiocese of Accra elected Msgr. Jonathan Ankrah as the Archdiocese Administrator until the installation of the new Archbishop Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle.
ACCRA UNDER MOST REV. CHARLES GABRIEL PALMER-BUCKLE
May 28, 2005: Archbishop Palmer-Buckle took canonical possession of the Metropolitan See of Accra.
June 29, 2005: Archbishop Palmer-Buckle received the Sacred Pallium from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, Italy.
August 13, 2005: Archbishop Emeritus Dominic K Andoh, DD, JCD, bade farewell to the Archdiocese of
Accra as its shepherd. At the same Mass, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle outdoored the Sacred Pallium of office, thus concluding the rite of taking canonical possession of the Metropolitan See of Accra.
2008: The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference ceded the management of the Catholic Institute of Business and Technology, Tantra Hills – Accra to the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra.
August 23, 2008: The Second Synod of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra was convoked at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka Accra.
February 15-20, 2009: The Second Synod was celebrated successfully at Sowutuom under the theme,“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Matt. 28:19-20). “Renewing the Church and Fulfilling our Vocation and Mission in the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra in preparation for its 125th Anniversary.”
March 28, 2010: Bishop Emeritus Oliver Bowers celebrated 100 year birthday. The public celebration took place on Easter Monday, April 5th at the Mother House of HDR at Agomanya with a thanksgiving Mass in the presence of President Nicholas Orville Liverpool of Dominica.
2011: The Catholic Institute of Business and Technology campus was relocated to the Social Advance Institute, Adabraka.
July 2, 2012: The 120th Anniversary of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra was launched at the Holy Spirit Cathedral with the theme: “The Accra Catholic Mission: Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Building the Future”. The slogan was “Arise Catholic faithful! Rejoice and Renew”.
November 6, 2012: Bishop Emeritus Joseph Oliver Bowers passed to eternity, at Agomanya at the ripe age of 102.
November 9, 2012: Bishop Emeritus Joseph Oliver Bowers was buried in the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra.
2012: The Dominican Sisters of Battor Catholic Hospital left Ghana for good after 50 years of pastoral and hospital apostolate.
January 31, 2013: Commemorative Eucharistic Mass celebrated for the 120th Anniversary opposite former C.F.A.O / Multi Stores, location of Chief John Quartey’s house. The Principal celebrant was Most Rev. Leon B. Kalenga, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana; Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra was the Homilist.
May 17, 2013: Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Andoh died at the Korle –Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, two weeks after his 84th birthday.
June 6, 2013: Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Andoh was buried in the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra.
August 17, 2013: The ordination of 23 priests for SMA, SVD, Spiritans, and Comboni religious Congregations working within the Archdiocese of Accra and a sole candidate for Accra Archdiocese.
November 24, 2013: Thanksgiving Mass to climax 120th Anniversary celebration at Independence Square. This witnessed the double declaration by the Archbishop to mark the end of the Year of Faith and the official preparation for the 125th Anniversary of the Accra Catholic Mission. The President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama graced the occasion.
November 27, 2013: As part of the 120th Anniversary Climax, donations were made to the following; the SVD retirement home at McCarthy Hill, “City of God” at Old Fadama, Centre of Hope at Mataheko and Country Side Children’s Home at Bawjiase.
December 1, 2013: The Accra Archdiocesan Youth Council organized a drama on the Nativity of the Archdiocese of Accra in all six Deaneries on different dates. The drama was based on the 120th Anniversary them; “Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present and Building the Future”.
May 7, 2014: Joint Ecumenical Service by Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It was hosted by St. James Parish, Osu.
July 6, 2014: National Thanksgiving Service at the Holy Spirit Cathedral
August 3, 2014: Archbishop Palmer-Buckle Vacation School Opened at Don Bosco Training Institute, Ashiaman.
October 9, 2014: Inauguration of House of St. Francis at Ashaiman, a recovery place for alcoholic and drug addiction.
November 4-15, 2014: The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference was hosted by Accra Archdiocese at the SMA Regional House at Oshiuman, Accra. The opening ceremony was held at St. Slyvanus Catholic Church, Pokuase and the closing ceremony at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
August 7, 2015: Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference hosted Pro-Life Press Conference at Holy Spirit Cathedral.
August 15, 2015: Launch of Living with Christ Monthly Missal.
December 8, 2015: Archbishop Palmer-Buckle launched Year of Mercy.
December 13, 2015: Official Opening of Year of Mercy Door at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
January 2, 2016: Opening of Jubilee Shrines (Grotto):
(a) St Joseph the worker Catholic Church, Tema Comm 8
(b) Christ the King Catholic Church, Cantonments
(c) Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church, New Achimota
February 25, 2017: Launching of the “Holy Spirit Cathedral Restoration Project”.
March 2- 7 2017: His Eminence Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello arrived in Ghana to join in the 60th Independence Day Celebration. He met the Nuncio, the President, the Vice President and SECAM Standing Committee Members.
The high point of this historic visit was when on behalf of the Catholic Church, he reconsecrated Ghana to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was at an Ecumenical and Inter-Faith Prayer Service during the First Lenten Vespers at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka. It was graced by the President H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
May 13, 2017: The Centenary celebration of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. This was marked at Our Lady of Fatima Grotto, Christ the King Parish, Cantonments.
September 21, 2017: Launching of 125th Anniversary celebration at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka
December 2, 2017: First Advent Vespers and official opening of 125th Anniversary celebration held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka
January 31, 2018: Jubilee Mass to commemorate the first Holy Mass 125 years ago.
May 11, 2018: Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle was transferred from Accra to Cape Coast.
August 18, 2018: Dedication and commissioning of Labyrinth, a prayer walk way at the Archbishop Andoh Catechetical Centre, Kordiabe.
November 7, 2018: Inauguration of Mission Security Limited and the Board of Directors at the Holy Spirit Cathedral
November 21, 2018: Archdiocesan Special Anniversary Awards ceremony for parishioners who have meritoriously served the Church in different capacities.
November 23, 2018: Candle Light Vigils / Processions and Holy Mass in all parishes.
November 25, 2018: Thanksgiving Mass to climax the 125th Anniversary Celebrations at the Black Star Square. The President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was in attendance.
January 02, 2019: A press conference held at the National Catholic Secretariat by the Secretary General announced the Archbishop-elect, Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp.
March 01, 2019: The installation and the taking of Canonical Possession of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra by Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp, at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka – Accra.
February 14, 2023: The Holy Father appoints the following as Auxiliary Bishops of the metropolitan archdiocese of Accra, Ghana: the Reverend John Kobina Louis, of the clergy of Accra, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Accra, assigning him the titular see of Fesseë, and the Reverend Anthony Narh Asare, of the clergy of the same archdiocese, until now parish priest of Saints Anne and Joachim in Teshie, assigning him the titular see of Castellum in Numidia.
