Information reaching the executive office of RECOWACERAO NEWS AGENCY, RECONA indicates that Two Newly Created Cardinals in Africa have been Appointed to Vatican Dicasteries of Doctrine of Faith, Interreligious Dialogue.
The information read that the Holy Father, Pope Francis has appointed the recently created Cardinals in Africa to two Vatican Dicasteries as members, Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo of Ivory Coast’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and his counterpart Jean-Paul Cardinal Vesco of Algeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Algiers, to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
The two newly Appointed Cardinals in Africa were among the 21 Pope Francis named on 6 October 2024 and created during the 7 December 2024 Consistory.
IGNACE CARDINAL BESSI DOGBO
Aged 63, Cardinal Dogbo was ordained a Priest of Ivory Coast’s Yopougon Catholic Diocese in August 1987.
He served in various positions as a Priest, including Parish Priest of Saint Andrew of Yopougon Diocese and Vicar General of the same Ivorian Episcopal See.
The holder of licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Rome-based Pontifical Biblical Institute was Consecrated Bishop in July 2004.
He served as the Apostolic Administrator of Korhogo from 2017 to January 2021, when he was appointed Local Ordinary of the same Ivorian Diocese.
Cardinal Dogbo was elected President of the Episcopal Conference of Ivory Coast (CECCI) in May 2017 during the 107th Plenary Assembly of the West African nation that took place in Kodjoboué (Bonoua) in the Ivorian Catholic Diocese of Grand-Bassam.
As CECCI President, Cardinal Dogbo advocated for peace, dialogue, and reconciliation in Ivory Coast before, during, and after the 31 October 2020 presidential election.
He was appointed Archbishop of Abidjan on 20 May 2024 and installed on 3 August 2024.
Born in Lyon in France on 10 March 1962, Cardinal Vesco studied and practiced law before entering the Novitiate of the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1995.
He was ordained a Priest in 2001 and completed his studies in Jerusalem before traveling to Algeria in 2002.
In 2010, he was elected Provincial Superior of the Dominicans in France.
In December 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Oran Catholic Diocese in Algeria, where he was Consecrated Bishop in January 2013.
- HAS BOKO HARAM TRULY SHRUNK IN WEST AFRICA - January 14, 2025
- TWO NEWLY CREATED CARDINALS IN AFRICA APPOINTED IN VATICAN - January 13, 2025
- SISTER SIMONA BRAMBILLA BREAKS BARRIERS IN VATICAN LEADERSHIP - January 10, 2025
