ACCRA, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE of. - This prefecture, which takes its name from the capital city, was detached from the vicariate of the Gold Coast (Africa) in Dec. 1943. It comprises almost the whole of the Eastern Province (Eastern Prov.) of the Gold Coast, namely the civil districts of Birim, Accra, New Juaben, Akwapim, and part of the Volta River and Ada district; it is situated west of the Volta River, with an area of approximately 10,000 sq. km.
The prefecture is evangelized by 13 missionaries of the Society of the Divine Word (Verbites) and three Negro priests, with two brothers. Catholics number 19,136, with 3,218 catechumens, out of a total population of about 750,000 inhabitants, belonging almost entirely to the Twi linguistic group in its two forms, Fanti and Guang, while a very small minority belongs to the Ga-Ewe group. Since local Protestantism possesses a powerful school organization, the Verbites, who began the mission in 1938, have already created a considerable network of educational institutions, which have risen from 4 to 87, with a total of 4,632 pupils. The greatest obstacle for the missionaries is fetishism, widespread and deeply rooted; yet, thanks to their zeal, Catholic doctrine spreads easily and rapidly (cf. MC, p. 2). Giuseppe Monticone