At a Thanksgiving Mass to climax the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the inauguration of the Wiawso Diocese, the Most Rev. Samuel Nkuah-Boateng, the Local Ordinary, has launched preparations for the 30th Anniversary celebration of the Diocese to be marked in 2030.
The Catholic Diocese of Wiawso was created on December 22, 1999, by Pope John Paul II (now Saint), but was inaugurated on March 25, 2000, with Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien as its first Bishop. He was ordained and installed for the newly created Wiawso Diocese on the same day of the inauguration of the Diocese by the Most Rev. Dominic Kodwo Andoh, the then Archbishop of Accra and now Peter Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, who was then the Archbishop of Cape Coast Archdiocese.
Launching preparations towards the Pearl Jubilee on March 28, 2026, at the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral at Sefwi Mpomam, Bishop Nkuah-Boateng, who succeeded Bishop Essien in 2023, said the 30th anniversary coincides with the 150 years of the Catholic Church in Ghana (1880 to 2030).
In 2030, the Bishop noted that the Wiawso Diocese will also be hosting the 2030 Annual Plenary Assembly of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), hence, called on the people of God to renew their commitment by supporting the completion of the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral building to celebrate these triple events in 2030.
He said all contributions made during the climax of the 25th anniversary would be channelled towards the Cathedral project, which he expressed optimism would be fully completed by or before 2030.
The last time the Wiawso Diocese hosted the GCBC Plenary Assembly was in 2010, when the then Nuncio, the Most Rev. Leon B. Kalenega of blessed memory, visited the Diocese and commissioned the Diocesan Pastoral Centre at Sefwi Datano.
Bishop Nkuah-Boateng also announced to the congregation a 10-year development plan being prepared for the Diocese.
In a remark, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, the Most Rev. Julien Kabore, who was embarking on a three-day visit to the Diocese, was optimistic that the Church in the Wiawso Diocese is mature enough to complete the Cathedral Project before 2030.
He thanked Bishop Nkuah-Boateng for inviting him to be part of the climax of the Silver Jubilee celebration and extended his appreciation to the pioneer Bishop, the Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kwaku Essien, for his leadership and shepherding the Diocese for many years before his successor took over.
The Nuncio said, the Jubilee being celebrated might “be recognized as a moment of maturity for the Church of Christ in Wiawso,” saying, “It is a time not only to receive, but also to give; not only to be strengthened, but to become a source of strength for others.”
“A mature Church is a missionary Church, ready to share, in a spirit of communion, with other Dioceses in Ghana and even with the wider universal Church sharing her material goods, and, above all, offering her sons and daughters for the service of the Gospel in the mission,” the Nuncio stated.
Thus, according to him, the Church is called to be at once “deeply local and truly Catholic, rooted in the soil where she is planted, attentive to the signs of God’s presence in her own history, and at the same time open to the vast horizon of the universal communion, where every people and culture finds its place.”
He added: “A Church that lives this harmony becomes a living sign of gratitude for what has been received, and a vessel of mercy for all,” praying that the Wiawso Diocese would continue to walk in this path firmly rooted, widely open, and ever attentive to the grace of God, so that, in the diversity of her expressions and the unity of her faith, she may bear a radiant witness to the Lord who has visited and redeemed His people.
On his part, Bishop Emeritus Essien thanked for the opportunity to witness the climax of the Silver Jubilee celebrations, saying that “it’s a big blessing.”
Certificates were presented to some of the Priests and lay faithful who embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome as part of the Jubilee year. They were led to pilgrimage by Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Yaw Darko, Diocesan Communications Director and Parish Priest of St. Benedict Parish at Sefwi Bekwai.
By Damian Avevor (Wiawso Diocese)
