On Friday, April 21, 2023, the Most Rev. Samuel Nkuah-Boateng was ordained as the second Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso. He took over from the Most Rev. Joseph Francis Essien, who has retired canonically after serving the Diocese for 23 years as its first Bishop. The ordination was attended by hundreds of Catholics from all walks of life.
Newswatchgh.com was at the ordination and brings you a brief profile of the Diocese with photos of the episcopal ordination ceremony
The Catholic Diocese of Wiawso is a Suffragan Diocese of the Archdiocese of Cape Coast. The Diocese was originally part of the Diocese of SekondiTakoradi which in itself was carved out of the Archdiocese of Cape coast on November 20, 1969. Currently, the dioceses of Wiawso, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Archdiocese of Cape Coast form the Cape Coast Province.
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 on March 25, 2000.
At the creation of the Diocese of Wiawso, the Diocese had nine parishes. Those parishes included: St. Teresa, Bibiani; St. Agatha, Asafo; Immaculate Conception, Enchi; St Joseph, Wiawso; St Paul, Adjoafua; St Benedict, Bekwai; St. Joseph, Afere; St. Theresa, Yawmatwa and St. Michael, Dadieso. Again, the Diocese started with 21 Diocesan Priests. There were five religious Brothers and three Sisters. Number of Seminarians were seven.
Presently, the Diocese can boast of 32 Parishes, three Rectorates, 59 Priests, three members of Institutes of Pontifical Right, two members of Institutes of Diocesan Right and 37 Seminarians.
Geographically, the Wiawso Diocese is coterminous with the Western North Region of Ghana which is typically a rain forest region. It has a total land area of 8,696 square kilometres and a population of 880,855 (2021 Population Census). Wiawso Diocese is bounded by eight dioceses. It is bounded by Sunyani diocese to the north; Goaso to the north-east; Kumasi Archdiocese to the east; Obuasi diocese to the south-east; Cape Coast Archdiocese and Sekondi-Takoradi diocese to the south; then the dioceses of Grand Bassam and Abengourou both in the Republic of La Cote d’Ivore to the west.
Administratively, there are nine administrative municipalities/districts located in the diocese. They are Wiawso Municipality, Bibiani-AhwiasoBekwai Municipality, Aowin Municipality, Suaman District, Juaboso District, Bodi District, Akontombra District, Bia West District and Bia East District. Traditionally, there are six paramount seats in the Diocese: Anhwiaso, Bekwai, Sefwi Wiawso, Aowin, Suaman and Chirano.
The Catholic Diocese of Wiawso is located in an area where the population consists of Christians, Muslims and Traditional adherents. The total number of baptized Catholics is 52,306. Members of other Christian denominations are estimated to be 320,845. Followers of non-Christian religions are also estimated to be 64,052. The total number of non-Catholics is 384,505.
All the religious denominations in the Diocese co-exist peacefully. Wiawso diocese lies in one of the richest regions in Ghana, endowed with resources such as gold, bauxite, cocoa, timber and foodstuffs.
The main languages spoken by the people are Sehwi, Brossa and Anyii. However, due to migration a variety of languages is now spoken in the Diocese. In view of this, the general population in the Diocese can be described as heterogeneous. The people in the Diocese are generally subsistence farmers. A few of them are traders, artisans, commercial drivers. Very few of them are in the white-collar jobs.
Following the resignation of Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien, 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.
