In a ceremony marked with prayer, jubilation, pomp, and pageantry, the Wiawso Diocese welcomed its new shepherd, Most Rev. Samuel Nkuah-Boateng, who was ordained and installed as the second Bishop of the Diocese on Friday, April 21, 2023.
The event was attended by thousands of Catholics from within and outside the Diocese, as well as representatives from other Christian denominations and traditional leaders.
The Episcopal Ordination and Installation Mass, which took place at the St. Joseph S.H.S school park in Sefwi-Wiawso Datano, was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński, with Most Rev. Charles Gabriel. Palmer-Buckle, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast and Apostolic Administrator and Bishop Emeritus of the Wiawso Diocese, Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien as the Principal Consecrator.
Members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference were concelebrating prelates, including the newly ordained auxiliary bishops of the Accra Archdiocese, Most Rev. Anthony Narh Asare, and Most Rev. John Kobina.
Priests and religious within and outside the diocese from different parts of the country also graced the occasion together with the lay faithful of the diocese, who were in a jubilant mood all through the celebration.
In his homily, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel. Palmer-Buckle, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast and Episcopal head of the Cape Coast Province under which the Wiawso Diocese falls, urged Bishop Nkuah-Boateng to be a shepherd after the heart of Christ to love, serve, and protect the people of God entrusted to his care, and work tirelessly for the growth and development of the Diocese.
After the homily led by the Principal Consecrators, Bishop Nkuah-Boateng made his profession of faith and took his oath of fidelity to the Holy Father and the Catholic Church. He was then anointed with oil and presented with the symbols of his episcopal office, including the ring, the miter, and the crozier.
In his inaugural address, Bishop Nkuah-Boateng expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for appointing him as the 2nd Bishop of the Sefwi-Wiawso Diocese. He pledged to work with his brother priests, religious, and lay faithful to promote the spiritual, social, and economic well-being of the people of the Diocese.
Bishop Nkuah-Boateng, who until his appointment was the Cathedral Church of the Wiawso of the Diocese, succeeds Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien, who retired in January 2023 after serving the Diocese for 28 years.
Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien will now go into the history books of the Wiawso Diocese and the Church in Ghana as the first emeritus bishop for Wiawso.
The Wiawso Diocese, which covers an area of about 5,000 square kilometers and has a Catholic population of over 110,000, was created in 1994 from the Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese. It comprises six civil districts: Sefwi Wiawso, Juaboso, Akontombra, Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai, Aowin-Suaman, and Bia East.
The appointment and subsequent ordination and installation of Bishop Nkuah-Boateng have been received with joy and excitement by the faithful of the Wiawso Diocese, who see him as a capable and dynamic leader who will steer the Diocese to greater heights.
His appointment as bishop was announced concurrently in Rome, the National Catholic Secretariat in Accra, and at the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral in Wiawso on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
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