Biography of Most Rev. Fr. John Yaw Afoakwah
Most Rev. John Yaw Afoakwah was born at Mampamhwɛ, a village in Adansi in the Ashanti region of Ghana on 29th January, 1955 from a Catholic family. Both parents are deceased. His father Opanin Kwame Afoakwah died when he was at the age of eleven. After the death of his father, his mother Anna Tabuah took him to Bobriase in Akrokerri which became his hometown. Obaapanin Yaa Tabuah died when he. was a deacon.
Fr. John Yaw Afoakwah started school at the age of five. He completed his basic education and received his Middle School Leaving Certificate at the St. Peter’s Boys’ School, Kumasi in 1970.
He proceeded to St. John’s Secondary School at Sekondi, in the Western Region of Ghana and obtained his Ordinary Level (O’ Level) in 1975. His passion for teaching made him study at the Wesley Teacher Training College(Now Wesley College of Education, Kumasi) and graduated with Teacher Certificate A, three (3) year Post Secondary in 1978. He did his Advanced Level (A’ Level) studies in private. He first taught as a teacher at Collins Secondary Commercial School, (Collins Senior Hgih School), Agogo from 1978 to 1981.
John Yaw Afoakwah studied at the Collegio Mater Ecclesia, Castel Gandolfo of the Pontifical Urban University, Rome from 1981-1983, Italy and obtained B.A. in Religious Education. On his return, he joined the Kumasi Catechetical Office for three years as a teacher-catechist and religious education supervisor. In September, 1986, he left for his philosophical and theological studies at the St. Peter’s Regional Seminary in Pedu, Cape Coast and completed in 1992 with B.A. in Religion with Sociology from the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. He obtained his Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PDGE) from the Cape Coast University, Cape Coast in 2004 and his Master of Science in Education at Le Moyne College, Syracuse, N.Y., U.S.A in 2010.
Fr. John Yaw Afoakwah was ordained a priest on 11th July 1992 at Adugyama, Ashanti, Ghana, Archdiocese of Kumasi. His first appointment after ordination was Chaplain and Teacher, Director of Guidance and Counselling at the St. Louis Training College, Kumasi now College of Education. He was at the same time the Director of the Catholic School of Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Kumasi.
In 1995 when the Diocese of Obuasi was carved out of Kumasi Archdiocese, he was incardinated to the Diocese of Obuasi. His assignments in the Diocese included the following: 1995 to 2007 he was a teacher of Religious and Moral Education, Guidance and Counselling, Christian Religious Studies(CRS) and later Assistant Headmaster Administration at the Christ the King Catholic Secondary School, Obuasi, Diocesan Director of Catechetics, Diocesan Coordinator of Social Communication, and Diocesan Chaplain of Catholic Charismatic Renewal; 1996-2002 he started the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Anyinam, Obuasi, and became its first Parish Priest; 2004-2007 he was the Rector of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Akaporiso, Obuasi; and in 2007 to 2011, he was the Parochial Vicar of the Blessed Trinity Parish, Owego, Rochester Diocese, New York, U.S.A. From 2012 he was the Rector of St. Louis Rectorate, Bodwesango, Chaplain and teacher at Bodwesango Senior High School and member of the Board of St. Louis Clinic, Bodwesango and Diocesan Coordinator of Catechetics and Education, Board member of Our Lady of Presentation School Complex and Board Chairman, Board of Directors of St. Joseph Senior High Technical School, Ahwiren, near Asante Bekwai, until his appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Obuasi.