Jean-Pierre Kutwa (born 22 December 1945) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast since May 2006. On 12 January 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

announced that Kutwa would be made a cardinal in February 2014.

Biography

Kutwa was born on 22 December 1945 in Blockhauss (Abidjan). He had initial studies the school St Jean-Bosco, Treichville, in 1950; on 18 September 1955, he entered the "Petit-Clerc", Bingerville in class of CMI; in 1957, he entered the Minor Seminary in Bingerville, where he completed his secondary studies.

Education

On 2 October 1964, he entered the Grand Seminary of Anyama, where he studied philosophy and theology; on 22 December 1967, he received the cassock and the ecclesiastical tonsure; he received the diaconate on 20 December 1970, from Archbishop

Bernard Yago Bernard Yago (July 1916 – 5 October 1997) was an Ivoirian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Abidjan from 1960 to 1994 and was made cardinal in 1983. Biography Bernard Yago was born in Pass, Yopougon, and stu ...

of Abidjan, in the church of Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours in Treichville; also, he studied at the Catholic Institute of Occidental Africa (I.C.A.O.), where he obtained a maîtrise in Biblical theology; and at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

, Rome, where he earned a doctorate in Biblical theology.

Priesthood and Episcopate

He was ordained a priest on 11 July 1971 by Cardinal

Pope John-Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him archbishop of the archdiocese of Gagnoa on 15 May 2001. He was consecrated bishop on 16 September by Cardinal

Bernard Agré Bernard Agré (2 March 1926 – 9 June 2014) was the archbishop of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Biography He was educated at the Seminary of Bingerville where he studied philosophy, then the Major Seminary of ...

, Archbishop of Abidjan. He took part in the Synod of Bishops that met at the Vatican in October 2005 as a delegate of the bishops of the Ivory Coast. In May 2006,

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 soverei ...

transferred him to the metropolitan see of Abidjan to succeed the retiring Cardinal Agré. Following the violence in the Ivory Coast that followed the November 2010 elections and ended in April 2011, he called for reconciliation: "Yes, the Ivory Coast must be a land of friendship and brotherhood, from the North or from the South, black or white, from here or elsewhere." In January 2012, speaking on behalf of the National Forum of Religious Groups, he called for

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)Regional Episcopal Conference of Francophone West Africa The Regional Episcopal Conference of Francophone West Africa (French: Episcopal Conférence Régionale de l'Afrique de l'Ouest Francophone, CERAO) is an agency of the Catholic Church which includes the bishops of Western Africa. History The CERAO ...

Cardinal

On 12 January 2014, Pope Francis announced that he would name Kutwa a cardinal at the papal consistory scheduled for 22 February 2014, along with 18 others. He was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Santa Emerenziana a Tor Fiorenza in February 2014. In September 2014, he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Pontifical Council for Laity, and Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Kutwa is also a composer.

References

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