The Roman Catholic Diocese of Keta–Akatsi ( la, Ketaën(sis)–Akatsien(sis)) is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

Latin

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, yet still depends on the missionary

Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. The bishops' seat is

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, in

Akatsi Akatsi is a small town and is the capital of Akatsi South District, a district in the Volta Region of Ghana. Economy Economic activities in Akatsi are mainly Subsistence agriculture coupled with vibrant buying and selling. Smuggling of clothing ...

. The diocese also contains a co-cathedral: St. Michael's Cathedral, in the city of

Keta Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they f ...

History

It was established on March 15, 1923 as Apostolic Vicariate of Lower Volta (Volta Inférieur/Inferiore), on territories split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Gold Coast (Ghana) and Apostolic Vicariate of Togo (in

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

) . It was then promoted on April 18, 1950 as Diocese of Keta. It lost territory on 1956.04.23 to establish Diocese of Navrongo. On June 20, 1975 it was renamed as Diocese of Keta–Ho. It was again renamed on December 19, 1994 as Diocese of Keta–Akatsi, having lost territories to establish Diocese of Ho and Diocese of Jasikan.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 134,600 Catholics (15.4% of 875,000 total) on 7,470 km² in 12 parishes and 6 missions with 55 priests (49 diocesan, 6 religious), 27 lay religious (6 brothers, 21 sisters) and 34 seminarians.

Bishops

Episcopal ordinaries

(all

Roman rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

; until 1976, European missionary members of Latin congregations, when the then auxiliary bishop was appointed as ordinary) ;''Apostolic Vicars of Lower Volta'' * Augustin Hermann,

Society of African Missions The Society of African Missions ( la, Societas Missionum ad Afros; ) abbreviated SMA, also known as the SMA Fathers, is a Catholic religious Society of Apostolic Life of pontifical right for men founded by Melchior de Marion Brésillac in 1856. ...

(S.M.A.) (born France) (1923.03.26 – death 1945.04.08),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Bubastis Bubastis ( Bohairic Coptic: ''Poubasti''; Greek: ''Boubastis'' or ''Boubastos''), also known in Arabic as Tell-Basta or in Egyptian as Per-Bast, was an ancient Egyptian city. Bubastis is often identified with the biblical ''Pi-Beseth'' ( he ...

(1923.03.26 – 1945.04.08) * Joseph Gerald Holland, S.M.A. (born England, UK)(1946.07.11 – 1950.04.18 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of Ammædara (1946.07.11 – 1950.04.18) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Keta'' * Joseph Gerald Holland, S.M.A. (''see above'' 1950.04.18 – retired 1953.05.07), emeritate as Titular Bishop of

Cynopolis in Ægypto Cynopolis ( gr, Κυνόπολις for "city of the dog") was the Hellenistic toponym for two cities in ancient Egypt. Both Cynopolis superior and Cynopolis inferior were bishoprics in Christian times. Cynopolis superior Cynopolis was the Gre ...

(1953.05.07 – resigned 1970.12.07), died 1972 * Antoon Konings, S.M.A. (born Netherlands) (1954.02.21 – 1975.06.20 ''see below''), previously

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of daughter diocese Ho (Ghana) (1953 – 1954.02.21 ''see below'') ;''Suffragan Bishops of Keta–Ho'' * Antoon Konings, S.M.A. (''see above'' 1975.06.20 – retired 1976.04.10), died 1981 * Francis Anani Kofi Lodonu (first native incumbent) (1976.04.10 – 1994.12.19), also President of Ghana Bishops’ Conference (1991–1997); next Bishop of Ho (Ghana) (1994.12.19 – retired 2015.07.14); previously Titular Bishop of Mascula (1973.05.17 – 1976.04.10) as Auxiliary Bishop of Keta–Ho (1973.05.17 – succession 1976.04.10) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Keta-Akatsi'' * Anthony Kwami Adanuty,

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

(S.V.D.) (1994.12.19 - 2016.04.07); stayed on a while as

(2016.04.07 – 2017.03.16) * Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, S.V.D. (2017.03.16 – ...); previously

Apostolic Prefect An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

Donkorkrom Donkorkrom is a town in south Ghana and is the capital of Kwahu Afram Plains North district, a district in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

(Ghana) (2007.06.12 – 2010.01.19), next promoted Titular Bishop of Ita (2010.01.19 – 2017.03.16) as first

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

Donkorkrom Donkorkrom is a town in south Ghana and is the capital of Kwahu Afram Plains North district, a district in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

(2010.01.19 – 2017.03.16).

Auxiliary Bishop

* Francis Anani Kofi Lodonu (1973-1976), appointed Bishop here

Sources and external links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keta-Akatsi, Roman Catholic Diocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Ghana Dioceses in Ghana

Religious organizations established in 1923 Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...