Jean Zerbo (born 27 December 1943) is a Malian Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

since 1998.

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 ...

raised him to the rank of

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

on 28 June 2017. He is the first cardinal from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Biography

Jean Zerbo was born on 27 December 1943 in

Ségou Ségou (; bm, ߛߋߓߎ, italic=no, ) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 ...

, and ordained a priest there on 10 July 1971 by Pierre Louis Leclerc, Bishop of

. He continued his education first in Lyon in 1975 and then in Rome at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...

from 1977 to 1981, earning his licenciate in sacred scripture. Beginning in 1982, he was assigned to parish work in Markala while also teaching at the Major Seminary in Bamako. On 21 June 1988,

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 ...

appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of

and Titular Bishop of Accia. On 20 November 1988, he was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

bishop by

Jozef Tomko Jozef Tomko (11 March 1924 – 8 August 2022) was a Slovak prelate of the Catholic Church who held positions in the Roman Curia from 1962 until he retired in 2007. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 1985 ...

, Prefect of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, with Luc Auguste Sangaré, Archbishop of Bamako, and Joseph Paul Barnabé Perrot, Bishop emeritus of San, 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 ...

. On 19 December 1994, Pope John Paul II named him Bishop of

Mopti Mopti ( Bambara: ߡߏߕߌ tr. Moti) is a town and an urban commune in the Inner Niger Delta region of Mali. The town is the capital of the Mopti Cercle and the Mopti Region. Situated 630 km northeast of Bamako, the town lies at the confl ...

and on 27 June 1998 Archbishop of Bamako.

raised Zerbo to the rank of cardinal at a consistory on 28 June 2017. At the end of May, ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' reported that Zerbo and other Malian prelates had secret Swiss bank accounts. Mali's conference of bishops responded that the financial dealings were "transparent", called the news report "tendentious", and noted that the

Swiss Leaks Swiss Leaks (or SwissLeaks) is the name of a journalistic investigation, released in February 2015, of a giant tax evasion scheme allegedly operated with the knowledge and encouragement of the British multinational bank HSBC via its Swiss subsi ...

release of financial documents appeared timed to embarrass the Catholic Church in Mali just when Zerbo's elevation put it in the public spotlight. ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

'' said that Zerbo's participation in the consistory demonstrated that an internal investigation had cleared him of financial wrongdoing. As archbishop he has fostered dialogue between Christians and Mali's Muslim majority and participated in peace negotiations, as well as called for humanitarian aid to those affected by conflicts in the country. In 2012, he was part of a delegation of representatives of civil society that participated in discussions between Mali's ruling military regime and opposition political parties. He has been an advocate for national reconciliation ever since. He has also served as president of Caritas Mali, an international aid program for refugees and the poor. On 4 October 2017 he was appointed a member of the

. Francis made him a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life on 23 December 2017.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zerbo, Jean 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mali Malian Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II 1943 births Living people People from Ségou Cardinals created by Pope Francis Malian cardinals Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Roman Catholic bishops of Mopti Roman Catholic bishops of Bamako Roman Catholic archbishops of Bamako