The Episcopal Conference of Madagascar (CEM) ( French: ''Conférence Episcopale de Madagascar'') is the

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

of the Catholic Church in Madagascar. Founded in 1965, it is composed of all active and

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

members of the Catholic

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

(i.e.,

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

, and

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: * A backup site or system In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

) in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The CEM is a registered corporation based in

Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...

. The current president is the Archbishop of Toliara,

Désiré Tsarahazana Désiré Tsarahazana (born 13 June 1954) is a Malagasy prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been Archbishop of Toamasina since 2010 but served in that see prior to its elevation since 2008. Pope Francis appointed him a cardinal in 2018. Bi ...

. The current vice president is Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina, OCD, the Bishop of Morondava. The current secretary-general is

Jean Claude Randrianarisoa Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * ...

, the Bishop of Miarinarivo.

History

The Episcopal Conference of Madagascar was founded in 1965, five years after the country's independence. In November 2016, members of the conference published a letter criticizing Madagascar's political elite and intelligentsia. The letter declared that the country "suffers from a shortage of wise men."

Presidents

This is a list of the presidents of the Episcopal Conference of Madagascar: # Archbishop

Jérôme Rakotomalala Jérôme Louis Rakotomalala (15 July 1914 – 1 November 1975) was a Malagasy Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Tananarive from 1960 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Biography ...

(1965–1966) # Archbishop Gilbert Ramanantoanina, SJ (1966–1971) # Archbishop

Albert Joseph Tsiahoana Albert Joseph Tsiahoana (3 August 1927 – 15 June 2012) was the Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Antsiranana, Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara ...

(1971–1974) # Cardinal

Victor Razafimahatratra Victor Razafimahatratra, S.J. (8 September 1921 – 6 October 1993) was a Malagasy Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Antananarivo from 1976 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976. Bio ...

, SJ (1974–1986) # Archbishop

(1986–1992) # Bishop

Jean-Guy Rakodondravahatra jean-Guy Rakodondravahatra (born 1934 in Tsarahonenana) was a Malagasy clergyman and prelate for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ihosy. He was appointed bishop in 1972. He died in 1996.https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dihos.html CH See ...

, MS(1992–1996) # Cardinal

Armand Razafindratandra Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra (7 August 1925 – 9 January 2010) was a Cardinal Priest of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Life Born in Ambohimalaza, near Antanan ...

(1996–2002) # Archbishop

Fulgence Rabeony Fulgence is a Francophone given name, and refers to several saints named Fulgence: Saint Fulgence de Ruspe (533), Saint Fulgence (633), Saint Fulgence (Ethiopian Bishop, 4th century). nominis.cef.fr Some modern bearers of that name: * Fulgence B ...

, SJ (2002–2006) # Archbishop

Fulgence Rabemahafaly Archbishop Fulgence Rabemahafaly (born 23 May 1951 in Miarinavaratra) is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Fianarantsoa in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar. He was ordained as a priest on 14 August 1980 in Fianarantsoa. He was previously the Bishop ...

(2006 – November 2012) # Archbishop

(November 2012 – )

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Madagascar 1966 establishments in Madagascar

Buildings and structures in Antananarivo Catholic Church in Madagascar Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Non-profit organizations based in Africa Christian organizations established in 1965

History

Presidents

See also

References