Diamond Jubilee of Cape Coast Archdiocese celebrated with Papal Special Envoy

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Coast, in Ghana, celebrated its 75th Anniversary, marked by solemn thanksgiving ceremonies, pilgrimages and a gathering of clergy, religious and faithful. A double jubilee as the Catholic Church celebrates this year the Ordinary Jubilee Year of Hope.

On the theme “Pilgrims of Hope: Let Your Light Shine”, the two-day Diamond Jubilee celebration, which ran from October 24 to 25, 2025, was graced by His Eminence Wilfrid Fox Cardinal Napier, O.F.M., Archbishop Emeritus of Durban, South Africa, who has been appointed by the Holy Father as the Special Envoy to the event.

The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) was represented at the event by Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina from Nigeria, Deputy Secretary General of SECAM and Director the Justice, Peace and Development Commission (JPDC).

The Catholic Church’s presence in Ghana traces its renewed establishment to the late 19th century through the missionary works of the Society of African Missions (SMA), especially, Fr. Auguste Moreau and Fr. Eugene Murat.

The local Catholic Church progressed through key stages of development: first as the Apostolic Prefecture of the Gold Coast in 1879, then as the Apostolic Vicariate of the Gold Coast in 1901. On April 18, 1950, it was raised to the status of a Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Coast, marking the foundation of the Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Cape Coast in Ghana which saw the elevation of Accra, Kumasi, Keta-Akatsi and Tamale as suffragan dioceses by His Holiness Pope Pius XII.

This Diamond Jubilee highlights the archdiocese’s role as the cradle of Catholic evangelization in Ghana.

The Archbishop of Cape Coast is grateful

During this Double Jubilee celebration, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle expressed his gratitude to God for these events and thanked his distinguished guests. Ordained a priest in 1976, he has served as educator, administrator, Bishop of Koforidua, Archbishop of Accra and, since 2018, Archbishop of Cape Coast.

He has been Treasurer and Member of the Standing Committee of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and served as a resource person for SECAM on many occasions.

SECAM Secretariat wishes a Good Diamond Jubilee to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Coast, Ghana, to its Archbishop, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, and a Fruitful Jubilee Year of Hope to the World.

Charles Ayetan