The launch of the 60th Anniversary was under the theme: Transformational leadership; 60 Years of Excellence.
It took place at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Science and was attended by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Pojoba Daasebre Most Reverend Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, Ambassador Daniel Yaw Adjei, Ghana's Ambassador to Brazil School heads, Old Boys, Staff, Old students from Krobo, St Roses and Aburi Girls,Students, the media and members of the General public.
In his welcome address, Chairman of the 60th Anniversary Planning Committee and Managing Director of the Bank Of Africa, Pojoba Daasebre Koby Andah said the celebration of this great all-male catholic institution that had shaped the lives of many Ghanaians both home and abroad was no mean feat and as such would be celebrated in Grand style.
He revealed that stakeholders in the school especially old boys have embarked on a beautification project of the school compound and the erection of the tennis court which will be handed to school during the anniversary.
"Pope John the 23rd Senior High School and Minor Seminary will be turning 60 next year and as part of celebrations, We the old boys want to make a substantial contribution in the form of a physical structure to the school" He said
The Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer- Buckle who himself is a former student (1968 year group) and teacher of the school was full of praise and gratitude to the school for making him the chairman for the 60th Anniversary celebrations. According to him, the move was an honour and humbling as he wasn't expecting it.
"Please permit me to say my gratitude sincerely for this honour which was unexpected. I attended Pojoss at the age of 13 in 1963 and If anybody told me that in 2017 I would be standing here as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra giving this speech it would have been a shock but the holistic education in Pope John contributed to shaping who I became" he said
According to him, Africans are now waking up and therefore needed transformational leadership that would make them patriotic and disciplined bringing about development
First Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Benedicta Foli gave a brief history of the school from its inception in 1958 by the then Bishop of Accra, Most Reverend Joseph Oliver Bowers and the journey to becoming a top school in Ghana. She also pleaded with stakeholders to help the school secure a basketball court, new tables and benches for the dining hall.
The Anniversary celebrations is billed for the 16th-18th of February 2018 and includes Anniversary Lectures, Interschools debates, Culture Day, Choral Music Festival, Games, Health Screening, Float, Photo Exhibition and a Bon-fire night.
St. John's College and Minor Seminary now Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary was established after Bishop Joseph Oliver Bowers SVD of the then Diocese of Accra, now Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Accra came to the New Juaben Traditional Area in Eastern Region, Ghana on his first pastoral visit on 8 November 1953. After several discussions with Nana Frempong Mposo II, chief of the area, the Catholic mission were given a land at Effiduase in Koforidua to establish an institution to train priests for the Catholic church. The school was officially opened on 21 January 1958 with Rev. Fr Alphonse Elsbernd as headmaster and 45 students; 14 seminarians and 31 day students in two forms. St. John's College operated as a private Catholic institution financed by the Catholic Diocese of Accra and by the school fees of the few students from 1958 to 1968, until it was later absorbed Ghana Education Service of the Ministry of Education (Ghana) as a government assisted secondary school. The name of the school was changed to Pope John Secondary School and Junior Seminary in order to avoid confusion with other Catholic Schools in Ghana already designated "St. John"
Notable alumni of the school include Archbishop Charles G. Palmer- Buckle, Archbishop of Accra, Lieutenant General Joseph Boateng Danquah, former CDS, Professor William Otoo Ellis, former Vice Chancellor, KNUST, Deputy Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Politician, Franklin Cudjoe, Founder and President, IMANI Centre for Policy and EducationDr. Michael Kpessa Whyte, Dr. Kwame Akuffo Anoff- Ntow, Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Former Minister Of Communications.