Archbishop Marcel Honorat Léon Agboton (16 January 1941 – 14 September 2023) was a Beninese

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

archbishop, the Archbishop Emeritus of

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

Biography

Agboton was ordained as a priest on 6 January 1966, shortly before his 25th birthday and worked for nearly thirty years in

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

. On 19 December 1994 he was appointed the first Bishop of Kandi, and on 25 March 1995 was consecrated bishop of that diocese. On 29 January 2000 he was appointed Bishop of

and installed on 18 June the same year. Appointed on 5 March 2005, he was installed Archbishop of Cotonou on 2 April 2005, succeeding

Nestor Assogba Nestor Assogba (21 February 1929 – 22 August 2017) was a Beninese Catholic archbishop. Assogba was born in Abomey. He was ordained as a priest on 21 December 1957 and appointed Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Parakou, Bishop of Parakou on 10 A ...

. In May 2008 he received a telegram from

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on the death of Cardinal

Bernardin Gantin Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) 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 ...

. The telegram described Gantin as "an eminent son of Benin and Africa who won great respect within the universal Church". The Pope wrote "I ask God the Father, from Whom all mercy comes, to welcome into His light and peace this eminent son of Benin and of Africa who, universally esteemed, was animated by a profound apostolic spirit and by an exalted sense of the Church and her mission in the world." His resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday 21 August 2010. Bishop Antoine Ganyé of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Dassa-Zoume Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

was his successor as Metropolitan Archbishop of Cotonou. Agboton died on 14 September 2023, at the age of 82.Bénin : Monseigneur Marcel Agboton est décédé

References

External links

at Catholic-Hierarchy.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Agboton, Marcel Honorat Leon 1941 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Benin 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Benin Beninese Roman Catholic archbishops Beninese Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic archbishops of Cotonou Roman Catholic bishops of Kandi Roman Catholic bishops of Porto Novo