Finally there, Benedict XVI’s 22nd journey abroad takes him on his second
Apostolic visit to Africa. To the Republic of Benin from the 18th to the 20th of
November , where he’ll be visiting two cities. The nation's economic capital Cotonou
and the City of Ouidah, the Catholic hub of the nation with its seminary which serves
the whole of this geographical area .
It's a visit which clearly has a local
outreach but also a broader one to the entire African continent.
This West
African nation, which borders in the South with the Atlantic Ocean which was once
part of the Slave Coast, was chosen in fact as the venue for the signing and presentation
of a document intended to shape the future of the African continent .
It’s
the concluding document of the 2009 Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for
Africa which brought more than 200 bishops to Rome. In an effort to discuss “the Church
in Africa in service to reconciliation, justice and peace” .
That’s the broader
outreach. The more local one as you’ll discover over the coming days regards three
aspects. First celebrations for the anniversary of 150 years since evangelisation.
Second homage to the figure of a highly respected Catholic in this nation, the first
sub-Saharan African Cardinal, the late Bernardin Gantin . Considered in a sense
Father of the nation, so famous the airport is named after him. A friend and colleague
of our present Holy Father, lets’ recall for a moment how at one point they both
headed two major congregations respectively the Congregation for Bishops and the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith .
Finally the third aspect is another
anniversary marking 40 years since diplomatic relations between Benin and the Holy
See were established.
Before the Pope's arrival in Benin Veronica Scarisbrick
spoke to the President of Cotonou's Diocesan Committes for the visit , Father Augustin
Placide Houessinon of the Society of African Missions who shines the spotlight for
us on the Catholic Church in Benin , its challenges and strengths, its relations
with other faiths as well as with traditional religions in the nation where voodoo
was born .