Basile Mvé Engone (born 30 May 1941) is a

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

ese

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was Archbishop of Libreville in Gabon from 1998 to 2020.

Biography

Mvé Engone was born in Nkolmelène, Gabon, in the Diocese of Oyem. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 29 June 1973 as a member of the

Salesians of Saint John Bosco , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

Episcopal career

Mvé Engone was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of Oyem on 24 August 1980. He received his episcopal consecration on 24 August from Bishop

François Ndong François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

, with Archbishop André Fernand Anguilé and Bishop Félicien-Patrice Makouaka as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. Mvé Engone succeeded Ndong as bishop of Oyem on 23 August 1982. He was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

on 3 April 1998. On 27 June 2007, Mvé Engone, along with several other prelates, attended a briefing at the Apostolic Palace on Pope Benedict's impending ''

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a do ...

'' allowing wider celebration of the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

.Catholic World News
Vatican confirms briefing on motu proprio; publication near
June 28, 2007

References

External links

1941 births Living people Gabonese Roman Catholic archbishops 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa People from Woleu-Ntem Province Roman Catholic bishops of Oyem Roman Catholic archbishops of Libreville 21st-century Gabonese people {{RC-archbishop-stub