Former Managing Editor of The Catholic Standard, Sir Ben Assorow appointed ambassador-designate to the Vatican

Veteran journalist and renowned Catholic communicator, Sir Benedict Batabe Assorow, has been nominated by President John Dramani Mahama as Ghana’s next Ambassador-Designate to the Vatican City State

Sir Assorow, the immediate past Managing Editor of The Catholic Standard Newspaper, replaces Mrs. Satirieh Dorcas Ocran in the Holy See posting.

His nomination was communicated in an official letter dated July 21, 2025, and signed by Dr Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President, following consultations with the Council of State.

The Vatican appointment was part of a broader ambassadorial and high commissioner nominations including Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Harruna Attah, who heads to the Republic of Namibia; Kojo Choi, nominated for South Korea; Dr. Kwame Ampofo, for Hungary; and Mona Helen Kabuki Quartey, designated for the Italian Republic. Also on the list are Magnus Kofi Amoatey for the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kenneth Akibate for Burkina Faso; Said Saleh Sinare for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and Paul Evans Aidoo, who is set to represent Ghana in the Republic of Kenya.

He is a former Director of Communications for the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and also served as Executive Secretary of the Department of Social Communications at the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC).

On the global stage, he served on the World Board of SIGNIS, the global Catholic communications body, and was President of UNDA-Africa (now SIGNIS Africa). He was also appointed a Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications at the Vatican, now known as the Dicastery for Communications.

Sir Assorow is a past Chairman of the Elections Committee of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and represented the Association on the Boards of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and the Graphic Communications Group Ltd

He is an alumnus of then Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), studied Radio Production in London, and pursued German and International Relations at the University of Vienna, before earning his postgraduate education at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome

In 2006, he was honoured by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with a knighthood in the Order of St. Gregory the Great, one of the highest papal honours bestowed on lay Catholics.