HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF WIAWSO
The Catholic Diocese of Wiawso is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cape Coast. The Diocese was originally part of the Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi which in itself was carved out of the Archdiocese of Cape coast in 1969.
The Catholic Diocese of Wiawso was created on 30th December 1999. It was however inaugurated on 25th March 2000 with its first and current bishop as Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien. He was ordained and installed as a Bishop for the newly created Wiawso Diocese on the same day of the inauguration of the Diocese by Most Rev. Dominic Kojo Andoh, the then Archbishop of Accra and now Peter Cardinal Kwadwo Appiah Turkson who was then the Archbishop of Cape Coast Archdiocese.
At the creation of the Diocese of Wiawso, the Diocese had nine parishes. Such Parishes were St. Teresa, Bibiani; St. Agatha, Asafo; Immaculate Conception, Enchi; St Joseph, Wiawso; St Paul, Adjoafua; St Benedict, Bekwai; St. Joseph, Afere; St. Theresa, Yawmatwa, and St Michael, Dadieso.
The Diocese started with twenty one diocesan priests. There were five religious Brothers and three Rev. Sisters. Number of seminarians stood at seven.