BISHOP
BOWERS
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NAME
Most Reverend Joseph Oliver Bowers, SVD (Society of the Divine Word), DD
BORN:
Joseph Oliver Bowers
28th March, 1910
Hampstead, Dominica
PROFESSION
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church
Bishop Emeritus of Accra, Ghana
Former bishop of St. John’s-Basseterre
FAMILY
PARENTS:
Mary Bowers (née Thomas) and Sheriff Montague Bowers
SIBLINGS:
Sherriff, Lance, Beatrice, Lesley, Valence, and Blossom Ann (Reid)
EDUCATION
| 1921–27 | Dominica Grammar School, Roseau, Dominica |
| 1928–39 | St. Augustine Seminary, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA |
| DEGREES: | |
| 1939 | Bachelor of Theology, Gregorian University, Rome, Italy |
| 1952 | Licentiate in Canon Law, Rome, Italy |
CAREER
| 1927–28 | Teacher, Grand Bay Government School, Grand Bay, Dominica |
| 1939 | Ordained priest, Rome, Italy; Priest in the Society of the Divine Word |
| 1940–50 | Assistant Priest, Sacred Heart Church, Accra, Ghana | Parish Priest, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Agomanya, Ghana |
| 1952–53 | Auxiliary bishop of Accra, Ghana, and Titular Bishop of Cyparissia |
| 1953 | Consecrated Bishop of Accra, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA |
| 1953–71 | Bishop of Accra, Ghana |
| 1971–81 | Bishop of the diocese of St. John’s-Basseterre |
| 1981 | Retired from church office |
AWARDS
| 2008 | Sisserou Award of Honour Medal for faithful and dedicated service in the field of Religious Education, Roseau, Dominica |
| 2011 | State of Honour of Companion of the Order of the Volta (CV), Ghana, Africa |
NOTABLE
| • He was ordained in Rome on 22nd January, 1939 |
| • He is the first black member of the Society of the Divine Word, to be raised to the episcopacy |
| • The first black bishop to be ordained in the United States, since 1875 |
| • In 1957 Bowers founded the congregation of the Sisters of the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer (HDR) in Accra, Ghana |
| • In January 1958, he founded the St John’s Seminary and College (renamed in 2012 the Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary) |
| • He established several high schools including St Peters Senior High School, Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary, St. Paul’s Technical School, St. Rose’s Senior High School, St. Mary’s Senior High School,St. Monica’s Senior High School, & St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School; as well as hospitals & clinics including St. Dominic Hospital, Holy Family Hospital & St. Martin’s De Porres Hospital |
| • On the 16th January, 1971, he was appointed Bishop of the diocese of St. John’s-Basseterre, which includes Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands; making him the first bishop of that diocese |
| • He retired from church office on 17th July, 1981 |
| • In 1997 Bishop Bowers returned to Ghana at the invitation of the HDR Sisters, who wanted him back in Ghana so they could care for their patron in his final years |
| • In 2012 at the time of his death, aged 102, he was the second oldest Roman Catholic bishop and the oldest bishop from the Caribbean |
| • He is buried at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra, Ghana, Africa |
DIED
5th November, 2012
Agonmanya, Ghana, Africa