Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Accra

Archdiocese of Accra Archidioecesis Accraënsis
Location
Country	Ghana
Territory	Greater Accra Region and parts of Volta Region
Ecclesiastical province	Accra
Metropolitan	Accra
Headquarters	Accra, Ghana
Statistics
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members)	(as of 2013) 2,291,352 151,728 (7%)
Parishes	62
Churches	158
Schools	86
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic[1]
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	1893 January 31; 129 years ago (31-01-1893)
Cathedral	Holy Spirit Cathedral
Patron saint	Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Peter Claver, St. Martin de Porres and the Martyrs of Uganda
Secular priests	103
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop
Vicar General	Rev. Father John Louis
Map
Territory of the Archdiocese of Accra
Website
accracatholic.org

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Accra covers the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Volta Region. There are 62 parishes and rectories. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Accra (Latin: Accraën(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Accra in Ghana which includes the suffragan dioceses of Ho, Koforidua, Jasikan and Keta-Akatsi. The Latin title of the archdiocese is Archidioecesis Accraënsis, and the corporate title is Archdiocese of Accra. The cathedral parish for the archdiocese is the Holy Spirit Cathedral.

Most Reverend Dominic Kodwo Andoh† was the first Ghanaian native to become Archbishop of Accra. Installed in October 1971, he became the 3rd Ordinary for Accra since its establishment as a diocese.

Special churches[]

The Holy Spirit Cathedral[]

Sacred Heart Catholic Church[]

Sacred Heart Church which was started under a large empty cocoa shed at Derby Avenue in Accra, was the first church to be built. It was dedicated on February 11, 1925.

Bishops[]

Prefect Apostolic of Accra (Roman rite)

• Father Adolph Alexander Noser, S.V.D. † (1944 – 1947); see below

Vicar Apostolic of Accra (Roman rite)

• Bishop Adolph Alexander Noser, S.V.D. † (1947 – 1950); see above & below

Bishops of Accra (Roman rite)

• Bishop , S.V.D. † (1950 – 1953), appointed Vicar Apostolic of Alexishafen, Papua New Guinea; future Archbishop; see above
• Bishop Joseph Oliver Bowers † (1953 – 1971)
• Bishop Dominic Kodwo Andoh † (1971 – 1992); see below

Metropolitan Archbishops of Accra (Roman rite)

• Archbishop Dominic Kodwo Andoh † (1992 – 2005); see above
• Archbishop Charles G. Palmer-Buckle (2005 - 2018), appointed Archbishop of Cape Coast
• Archbishop (2019 -)

Auxiliary Bishop[]

• Joseph Oliver Bowers †, S.V.D. (1952-1953), appointed Bishop here

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops[]

• (priest here, 1983-1992), appointed Bishop of Koforidua in 2006
• Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, appointed Bishop of Koforidua in 1992; later returned here as Archbishop

Suffragan Dioceses[]

The Metropolitan Archdiocese has four suffragans. In 1992, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Koforidua was carved out of Accra by John Paul II. Accra was elevated to a Metropolitan See and Bishop Andoh was made the Metropolitan Archbishop. While the Ho, Jasikan and Keta-Akatsi Dioceses cover the Volta Region of Ghana, Koforidua Diocese spans a vast area of the Eastern Region.

• Ho
• Jasikan
• Keta–Akatsi
• Koforidua

Structure[]

Deaneries[]

There are six deaneries in the Archdiocese of Accra. Originally termed as Vicariates or Districts in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, deaneries exist "to foster pastoral care through common action". Each Deanery is headed by a Dean whose duty of promotion and coordination chiefly pertains to his responsibility to oversee and assist in uniting the other presbyters or priests in his vicariate in a common pastoral activity. The six deaneries of Accra are:

• Kaneshie Deanery
• Mamprobi Deanery
• Kpehe Deanery
• Osu Deanery
• Madina Deanery
• Tema- Battor Deanery

Education in the Archdiocese of Accra[]

In January 1931, the first school was opened on the Sacred Heart Church grounds. With an enrollment of fifteen boys and six girls the school opened and by August it was recognized by the Government Educational Director and placed on the Assisted List (which meant that Government would pay an agreed percentage of the teachers' salaries depending on the quality of the school as determined by the inspectors). Today, Accra Archdiocese has over seventy basic schools, several second cycle schools three seminaries and formation houses and a university.

Catholic Basic Schools in Accra[]

Public Schools

Catholic Private Basic Schools in Accra

• St. Bernadette Soubirous School-Dansoman
• Mary Mother of Good Counsel-Airport-West^[2]
• St. Theresa’s School-Kaneshie
• Christ The King Int. School-Cantonments
• Bishop Bowers School-Latebiokoshie
• St. Peter Claver French School-Mataheko
• Corpus Christi-Com. 18 Lashibi
• St. Ignatius R/C School-Batsona
• St. Mark R/C School-Ashongman
• St. Ancilla Preparatory School-Haatso
• St. John the Evangelist-Adenta

Catholic Second Cycle Schools in Accra[]

Public Schools

• St. Thomas Aquinas SHS-Cantonment, Accra
• St. Mary’s SHS-Korle-Gonno, Accra
• St. Margaret Mary Sec./Tech-Dansoman, Accra
• Our Lady of Mercy SHS-Tema
• St. Don Bosco Voc. Training Centre-Ashaiman, Tema
• Sacred Heart Technical Inst.-James Town, Accra

Private Schools

• Catholic Social Advance Inst.-Adabraka, Accra
• St. Francis Xavier Sec./Voc.-Kotobabi, Accra
• St. Peter Claver French School-Mataheko, Accra
• Corpus Christi SHS-Lashibi-Comm 18, Tema
• St. Kizito SHS-Battor

Catholic Seminaries and Formation Houses[]

• St. Paul's Catholic Seminary (Philosophy Session)-Sowutuom
• Society of African Missions (SMA)-Sowutuom
• Salesians of Don Bosco-Ashaiman

Catholic University[]

• Catholic Institute of Business and Technology (University College)-Adabraka^[3]

See also[]

• Roman Catholicism in Ghana
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Ghana

References[]

Coordinates: 5°33′00″N 0°13′00″W / 5.5500°N 0.2167°W / 5.5500; -0.2167