Spotlight Benin

Finally there, Benedict XVI’s 22^nd 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 .

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