Pope selects UCC lecturer to lead Jasikan Diocese

Pope Francis has appointed University of Cape Coast lecturer Reverend Simon Kofi Appiah as the new Bishop of Jasikan following the resignation of Most Reverend Gabriel Akwasi Ababio Mante.

The announcement was made by the Vatican on Tuesday in a statement issued by the Holy See through Agenzia Fides, confirming that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of Bishop Mante from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Jasikan.

At the same time, the Pope named Reverend Appiah, a priest of the Diocese of Jasikan and a lecturer at the Department of Religion and Human Values of the University of Cape Coast, as the new head of the diocese.

Reverend Appiah brings to the episcopal office a combination of academic training and pastoral experience developed over several decades of priestly service.

He was born on July 1, 1964, in Teteman and received his philosophical and theological formation at Saint Peter’s Regional Seminary in Pedu, Cape Coast.

He was ordained a priest on July 21, 1990, for the then Diocese of Keta Ho. Following the creation of the Diocese of Jasikan in 1994, he was incardinated into the new diocese.

His early years of ministry were spent in pastoral assignments as a parish vicar in Kpedze, Vakpo and Kadjebi between 1990 and 1995, where he was involved in parish administration and community-based ministry.

Reverend Appiah later pursued advanced academic studies in Europe. From 1995 to 2001, he studied at the Universität Tübingen in Germany, where he obtained a doctorate in theological ethics.

In addition to his doctoral studies, he earned a postgraduate diploma in psychology from the University of London and a diploma in teaching higher education from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

After returning to Ghana, he served the Diocese of Jasikan in several leadership and formation roles. These included appointments as formator at the Saint Patrick Formation House, diocesan chancellor and director of the diocesan Office for the Pastoral Care of Vocations. He also worked for a period as a pastoral collaborator in the parish of Kadjebi.

Since 2011, Reverend Appiah has been engaged in academic work as a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast and at the major seminary in Pedu, where he has contributed to the education and formation of students in religion, ethics and priestly ministry.

His appointment places him in charge of the Diocese of Jasikan, located in the Oti Region, where he is expected to draw on his pastoral background and academic experience in leading the local Catholic community following the resignation of Bishop Mante.