The Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom, located in the Kwahu Afram Plains, in the Eastern Region of Ghana, West Africa, which began as a Prefecture was carved out from the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua on 17th April 2007 with Very Rev. Fr. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, SVD, as its Prefect Apostolic.
The Vicariate is coterminous with the two geopolitical Districts of Kwahu Afram Plains North and South.
In 2010, it was elevated to the status of an Apostolic Vicariate with Most Rev. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, SVD as the first Apostolic Vicar to be ordained for the area. Currently, his Lordship, Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, is the Apostolic Vicar.
Deaneries and Parishes
Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate has eight Parishes on the mainland and one Island Mission which is also considered as a Parish for the Island Stations. These are divided into two Deaneries: Donkorkrom Deanery and Tease Deanery.
The Parishes under Donkorkrom Deanery include: St. Anthony Catholic Church at Amankwakrom, with about 222 faithful, St. Mary, Mother of God at Adeemmra (about 735 Christians), St. Francis Xavier Cathedral at Donkorkrom (about 1,331 faithful), Island Missions (Dwarf Island), with about 380 faithful and St. Therese of the Child Jesus at Samanhyia (about 481 faithful).
Parishes under Tease Deanery include: St. Joseph the Worker at Maame Krobo, with about 1,401 faithful, St. Joseph Freinademetz Catholic Church at Ekye-Amanfrom (about 516 faithful), St. Cecilia Catholic Church at Forifori (about 483 faithful) and St. Fidelis Parish at Tease (about 1341 faithful).
There are 77 Outstations in all, in the Vicariate with about 70 Catechists.
Adeemmra, for a very long time was the lone Parish in the whole of Afram Plains with only one Priest taking care of all the Stations, until it later gave birth to all the other parishes enlisted above.
Fr. Alfons Merten, SVD of blessed memory was one time the Parish Priest of Adeemra and he foresaw that Donkorkrom being the District Capital had a potential for growth and expansion.
As at then, Donkorkrom was a very small community under Adeemra Parish, so he began some developmental work there, the fruit of which is the Alfons Merten’s Pastoral Centre which is today hosting people from all walks of life, for programmes and has become the Vicariate’s main Pastoral Centre for now.
Pastoral Agents
The Vicariate has currently twenty-two (22) Priests: fourteen are diocesans, including one Fidei Donum from Accra Archdiocese, 7 belong to Divine Word Missionaries, and 1 Spiritan priest. Out of the 22, four (4) are expatriates (2 from Indonesia, 1 from Papua New Guinea and 1 from the Philippines) and 18 are Ghanaians. There is also one (1) Religious Brother (SVD) in the Vicariate.
There are four (4) Female Religious Congregations in the Vicariate, namely: Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS), Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (MSHR), Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church (SMMC) and Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer of Accra (HDR) (2 are of international character and 2 of diocesan rite).
Out of the twenty-one (21) female religious that are currently working in the Vicariate, sixteen (16) of them are in Perpetual Vows and five (5) in Temporary Vows. Four (4) are Nigerians, one (1) Cameroonian, two (2) Indonesians, and the remaining 14 are Ghanaians.
The total number of pastoral agents (Priests and religious) in the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom stands at forty-three (43), and the total number of Catholics in the Vicariate is about 6,890 as at 2024 Statistics.
Health / Education
Health wise, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate has two Health Centres: Holy Spirit Catholic Poly Clinic at Kwasi Fante and Holy Rosary Health Centre at Amankwakrom.
In terms of Education, there are a number of Catholic Basic Public Schools in Donkorkrom with only four Private Catholic Schools: St. Joseph School, Maame Krobo, Holy Rosary School, Asikasu-Donkorkrom, School of the Holy Spirit, Kwasi-Fante and Mater Ecclesiae at Kwaekese.
There are two Second Cycle Public-Catholic Schools in the Vicariate: St. Fidelis Senior High Technical School at Tease and St. Mary’s Vocational / Technical School, Adeemmra.
The Reality of Afram Plains
The Afram Plains has an area of 5,040sqkm with a population of 218,235 as at 2010 based on a population growth rate of 3.6%. There are hundreds of villages on a number of Islands. It is estimated that as high as 80% of the population, live below the poverty line.
The depravity of the Afram Plains remains a major concern for its inhabitants. Migration in search of food and income to overcome conditions of poverty, tend to disrupt the smooth development of the District and the evangelization mission of the Church, thereby affecting the creation of parish communities and the growth of the Church.
The inhabitants of Afram Plains are cut off from the rest of the country due to limited physical access. The Vicariate is virtually a peninsula that can be reached through two main routes: Ekye – Amanfrom or Kpando Torkor, both by water-crossing using a Ferry, referred to in the local parlance as the ‘ponthoon’ (a boat for carrying passengers, goods and vehicles) or an engine boat.
There is however a mainland road through Asante- Akim Agogo into Maame Krobo, which is not very motorable especially in the rainy season. That stretch is also very isolated with not so many settlements along the road, which makes it also a bit dangerous. Donkorkrom is bounded by three main rivers namely the Volta, the Afram and the Obosum.