Apostolic Nuncio to Ivory Coast, Archbishop Ambrose Madtha of India dies in car accident

December 10, 2012 - The Apostolic Nuncio to Ivory Coast, Archbishop Ambrose Madtha of India died on Saturday, following a serious car accident. The 57-year old papal legate died in Biankouma, west of the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, while returning from an ordination in the north-western town of Odienne. The driver also died in the accident, while the Nuncio’s secretary and a religious sister were injured. Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, in a statement read on national television, expressed his "deep regret" at the death and sent condolences to the Church and the family of the late archbishop, known for his commitment to peace and overcoming the recent tensions in the West African nation. He is credited with behind-the-scene diplomacy in brokering a peace deal in Ivory Coast’s 2010-11 political crisis when the previous ruler, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to step down even though Ouattara was declared winner of presidential elections. The Catholic Church was put in a delicate position since some of the country's bishops favoured Gbagbo, who comes from the country's majority Christian south. Ouattara is from the largely Muslim north. Gbagbo is now awaiting trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Around 40 percent of Ivory Coast’s population is Muslim and 40 percent Christian. Some 20 percent are believers in native religions. Last month Ouattara, accompanied by his Christian wife, met Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.
Born in Belthangady, Karnataka state, on Nov. 2, 1955, Archbishop Madtha holds a Masters degree in Economics from Nagpur University and Bachelors in Education from Lucknow University. He studied Philosophy and Theology at St Charles Seminary, Nagpur and obtained doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Urban Univeristy of Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1982 for Lucknow Diocese. Archbishop Madtha’s diplomatic career began in June 1990 with the Apostolic Nunciature in Ghana and thereafter in El Salvador, Georgia, Albania e Taiwan. Archbishop Madtha was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Ivory Coast in 2008.