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The Catholic Church in Benin is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
In 2023, more than half of all Christians in the Republic of Benin are Roman Catholic. [1]
In 2020, there were an estimated 3.9 million baptised Catholics in Benin, or about 32% of the population, in ten dioceses and archdioceses. There were 1349 priests and 1482 nuns. [2]
The Catholic Church in Benin gave one of its most esteemed bishops, Archbishop Bernardin Gantin of Cotonou, to the Roman Curia as Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops and as Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. He worked closely and was a personal friend of both Pope John Paul II, who brought him to Rome, and Benedict XVI, who spoke of him when he visited his tomb in Ouidah, Benin in November 2011, as part of a visit to that country. Archbishop Mark Miles has been designated Archbishop of Benin and Togo.
Within Benin the hierarchy consists of:
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Bernardin Gantin was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the hierarchy of the Church was unprecedented for an African and has been equaled by few non-Italians. He began his career in his native country first as an auxiliary bishop and then as archbishop of Cotonou. In 1971 he began his thirty-year career in the Curia. After he had spent several years in the role of senior assistant, he held a series of senior positions as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops
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