After 18 years of missionary growth, Donkorkrom becomes a diocese

Pope Leo XIV elevated the ecclesiastical jurisdiction to the Diocese of Donkorkrom and appointed Bishop John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, as its first diocesan bishop, according to an announcement communicated through the Apostolic Nunciature in Ghana and made public by the Secretary-General of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The new Diocese of Donkorkrom, located in eastern Ghana, becomes a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Accra while maintaining the same territorial boundaries as the former Apostolic Vicariate.

The journey toward diocesan status began in 2007 when Pope Benedict XVI established Donkorkrom as an Apostolic Prefecture after carving it out of the Diocese of Koforidua. Three years later, in 2010, it was elevated to an Apostolic Vicariate as the Catholic population and missionary activities in the Afram Plains area continued to grow.

Eighteen years after its establishment as a missionary territory, Donkorkrom has now attained full diocesan status, a development Church leaders describe as a sign of maturity and steady pastoral growth.

The Diocese of Donkorkrom covers an area of 5,040 square kilometers and serves a population of 228,754 people, including 37,462 Catholics. It comprises nine parishes, 14 educational institutions and three charitable organizations.

Church statistics indicate the diocese currently has 14 diocesan priests, eight religious priests and 22 religious sisters, alongside two seminarians preparing for priestly ministry.

Bishop John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, who served as Apostolic Vicar of Donkorkrom since 2019, now assumes leadership as the first diocesan bishop.

Under Canon 381 §1 of the Code of Canon Law, a diocesan bishop exercises ordinary, proper and immediate authority necessary for the pastoral governance of the local Church entrusted to him.

Catholics across Ghana have welcomed the elevation as a historic moment for the Church in the Afram Plains and a reflection of the continued expansion of Catholic evangelization and pastoral outreach in the country.