Five priests in the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua have funded the construction of a new Catholic church to bring worship closer to residents of four communities in the New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The four priests raised GH¢1.6 million through their own resources to construct the 300 capacity church, serving residents of Trom, Bornya, Korle and Abansro.
Previously, Catholic faithful in these communities had to travel more than three miles to the nearest Catholic church at St. Dominic, Adweso, St. George Cathedral or St. Bakhita, Old Estates, often struggling to find taxis on Sundays.
For some, the journey to worship was particularly challenging.
Francisca Ayitey recalls the difficulty of travelling from Trom to St. Dominic Catholic Church while pregnant. “Praise be to God, I used to go for Mass at St. Dominic from Trom with pregnancy. Getting taxis on Sunday wasn’t an easy thing,” Francisca Ayitey narrated.
She is not alone, the elderly and other residents who had gradually withdrawn from church activities because of the distance can now worship closer to home.
The new Church named St. John Vianney Catholic Church after the patron saint of Catholic priests, is ready for Mass.
It adds to the existing 53 parishes and quasi parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua.
The Catholic Bishop of Koforidua, Most Rev. Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, led the dedication of the new church at Trom.
Bishop Afrifah-Agyekum described the initiative as exceptional, and said it was the first time in his over 40 years of priesthood .
“It has become special and unique because since the creation of the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua, I have not experienced this for over 40 years of my priesthood, even from the Accra Archdiocese where I was ordained. We want to thank God for it.”
He commended the five priests for conceiving the idea and completing the project in eight months.
“I want to thank God for the thoughtfulness of some of my priests, for the fact that they conceived this idea and conveyed it to me towards the end of last year. Thank you for this parish and for completing it in eight months.”
The Bishop also said the project demonstrated that infrastructure could be delivered at a lower cost when resources were managed efficiently, urging government and other institutions to draw lessons from the initiative.
“This country can still build cheaper. But it is often something that eludes all of us and so the construction of projects become so expensive.”
The Catholic Bishop of Koforidua, Most Rev. Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, acknowledged that the Catholic Church needed to do more to reach rapidly developing communities, where distance had become a barrier to regular worship.
He said the Church must rethink its approach to expansion and plan strategically to respond to changing settlement patterns.
“We can’t continue to remain where we are; we must grow with communities. We have to begin to plan, strategise and expand. There are some Catholics who, because of distance, have fallen; they are not going to church and not practising. You are the ones I am looking for, which is the reason why this community exists.”
For about 14 years, Catholics in the Trom enclave had been gathering for worship in a private residence. This highlighted the need for a permanent place of worship as the communities expanded.
History of the project
The need for a Catholic church in Trom had long been identified by the Catholic Diocese, which owns the land on which the new facility stands. However, lack of funds delayed the project for years.
In October 2025, the vision took a decisive turn when the Pastoral Director and Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Quainoo Aggrey, presented his readiness to personally spearhead the construction of a 300 capacity Church estimated at 1.6million Ghana Cedis.
Although the amount appeared daunting, Fr. Aggrey contacted four other priests and shared the vision. Convinced, they committed resources according to their respective capacities to make the project possible.
Construction of the substructure began on January 7, 2026, and continued steadily until the church was completed in September 2026.
Convenor of the five priests, Very Rev. Fr. Ebenezer Kenneth Abban PhD, who is the Koforidua Diocesan Priests Association (KODPA) President, DHS Director and Hospital Manager at St. Dominic Catholic Hospital, Akwatia, acknowledged the collective sacrifice behind the project, while giving special recognition to the initiator.
“Although five of us contributed in our own strength to build this church, special mention should be made of the initiator, Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Quainoo Aggrey. We could not believe what we saw; in our minds, this was to travel beyond this year. This is about transforming a vision into a sacred place where God’s people will gather to pray and celebrate the Holy Eucharist, the very foundation of our ministry as priests. A place where people will receive the other sacraments of the Catholic Church, and perhaps most importantly, a place where people shall encounter Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, where Christ’s love shall go out to the wider community.”
“We wish to put on record that what we have done is out of love for God and His Church. It is an act of faith rendered through the sacrifice of personal earnings,” Fr. Abban added.
The five priests behind the project
The project was conceived by Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Quainoo Aggrey, Pastoral Director and Chancellor of the Diocese.
He was joined by four other priests:
Rev. Fr. Ebenezer Kenneth Abban, PhD, DHS Director, Hospital Manager at St. Dominic Catholic Hospital, Akwatia, and KODPA President. Ordained in 2003.
Rev. Fr. Michael Numekevor Jnr., Esq., Diocesan civil lawyer, priest in charge of lands and estates, and priest responsible for non-Catholic schools in Koforidua. Ordained in 2008.
Rev. Fr. Eric Evans Akahono, Parish Priest of OLF Catholic Church, Akyem Oda, and Diocesan Coordinator of Liturgy. Ordained in 2009, and
Rev. Fr. Derrick Eyram Senanu, Parish Priest of St. Peter Catholic Church, Somanya, Dean of the Somanya Deanery, and Priest responsible for development and projects in the Diocese. Ordained in 2015.
