St. Paul's Catholic Seminary is a

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 ...

ian

Roman Catholic 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 lette ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

located in

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Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the second most populated region, befor ...

. It is in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Accra 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 ( la, Accraën(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiasti ...

and is dedicated to the philosophical training of seminarians for 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 ...

s of the Roman Catholic Archdioceses of Accra,

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

, and

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

. The seminary is affiliated with the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

Legon Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Accra Metropolis District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. Ghanaia ...

, Greater Accra Region. It also admits seminarians from the

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. ...

and neighbouring countries. Since it was founded in 1988, the seminary has produced more than 500 priests.

History

The idea of setting up St. Paul’s was conceived in 1983 by the Bishops of the erstwhile Ecclesiastical Province of Cape Coast Diocese comprising the then Archdiocese and the dioceses of the southern belt of Ghana. The aim was to separate the philosophy department of St. Peter's Regional Seminary, Pedu, Cape Coast, from that of Theology. This was necessary as there was pressure on the facilities of St. Peter's at the time, due to increasing numbers of seminarians. There was also the need to initiate a spiritual year programme in response to the promptings of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. The idea came to fruition when on January 15, 1988, the first batch of seminarians (48 young men) arrived to start the Spiritual Year Programme. Msgr. Rudolph Apietu was appointed the first Rector. Msgr. Michael Obosu became the first Spiritual Director. Sr. Charles Luanga, HDR, and Sr. Alexandrina, HDR, served as matrons. To begin the philosophy programmes, Frs. Stephen Acheampong, John Martin Darko, and Miachael Barima Apau joined the staff. Rev. John Martin Darko was later appointed the first Vice Rector. Frs. Augustine Abizi and Paul Bebodu commuted from Pedu as adjunct professors. Frs. Irvin Yangouru and Joseph Osei Bonsu also joined the staff from the University of Ghana. When in 1992 Msgr. Apietu’s tenure was over, Fr. Francis Abuah Quansah was appointed the 2nd Rector of the seminary. Ten years later, he was succeeded by the then vice rector, Fr. Raphael Osei Soadwah, who was succeeded in 2009 by Fr. Francis Arthur.

Annual activities

Benefactors' Day celebrations

In the second semester of every academic year, the seminary organizes the Benefactors' Day celebrations to celebrate all those who made contributions. The occasion is always attended by a bishop who is a member of the Governing Council of the Seminary. Funds are also raised to support developmental projects in the seminary.St Paul Major Seminary holds Benefactors-Day
.

References

External links

* the seminary's official website *
Information about St. Paul's Catholic Seminary, Ghana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul's Catholic Seminary 1988 establishments in Ghana Educational institutions established in 1988 Catholic seminaries Catholic universities and colleges in Ghana Education in Accra

History

Annual activities

Benefactors' Day celebrations

See also

References

External links