Pope appoints Secretary General of West African Catholic University as Bishop of Kpalimé, Togo

Pope Leo has appointed Fr. Edmond Yawo Amekuse as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Kpalimé in Togo, following the acceptance of the resignation of Bishop Benoît Comlan Messan Alowonou.

The appointment was announced by the Holy See on Friday, May 26.

Before his appointment, Bishop-elect Amekuse served as Secretary General of the Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. A priest of the Diocese of Kpalimé, he brings nearly three decades of pastoral, academic and administrative experience to his new role.

Born on 16 November 1967 in Agou-Akoumahou, within the Diocese of Kpalimé, Bishop-elect Amekuse studied Philosophy and Theology at the Saint Jean-Paul II Major Seminary in Lomé. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kpalimé on 28 December 1996.

He began his priestly ministry as Assistant Priest at the Saint-Esprit Cathedral in Kpalimé while also teaching Religious Studies at the Polyvalent College of Kpalimé.

He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Institut Catholique Missionnaire in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He later studied Interreligious Dialogue at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome before earning a Doctorate in Liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome.

On his return to Togo, he served for 15 years as Professor of Liturgy at the Saint Jean-Paul II Major Seminary in Lomé. During this period, he also held several leadership positions, including Chaplain and later Secretary General of the Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest in Togo. From 2020 to 2023, he served as a formator at the major seminary.

Since 2023, Bishop-elect Amekuse has been serving as Secretary General of the Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

His appointment comes as Bishop Benoît Comlan Messan Alowonou steps down from the pastoral leadership of the Diocese of Kpalimé after the Holy Father accepted his resignation.