Barthélemy Adoukonou (born 24 August 1942) is a Beninese Catholic bishop. He is the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture since his appointment by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 3 December 2009. He was previously Secretary-General both of the Conférence Épiscopale Régionale de l'Afrique de l'Ouest Francophone and of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa, and a consultor of the

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery within the Holy See whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently fr ...

. As well as the languages of the two West African international conferences, he speaks Italian and German.

Ecclesiastical career

Adoukonou was born in

Abomey Agbome or Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small tr ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

in 1942. He was ordained priest on 16 December 1966. After teaching in the Saint Joan of Arc minor seminary of Ouidah (1967–1968), and being chaplain and teacher at the Aufiais College in Cotonou (1968–1970), and assistant parish priest of St Francis of Assisi at Bohicon, Abomey (1970–1971), he spent 1971 to 1977 continuing his studies in religious sociology in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and then of theology at the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg () is a public research university located in the city of Regensburg, Germany. The university was founded on 18 July 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria. Following groundbr ...

, where he earned his doctorate. He was meant to present his dissertation to the

Joseph Ratzinger Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...

in June 1977, but Ratzinger suddenly asked him to finish it earlier so he could move the presentation forward to March. Between 1977 and 1984 he was rector of the Minor Seminary of St. Paul at Djimi,

, Missionary Professor at the University of West Africa in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

and professor of methodology of research in human and social sciences at the University of the State of

Abomey-Calavi Abomey-Calavi is a city, Arrondissements of Benin, arrondissement, and Communes of Benin, commune located in the Atlantique Department of Benin. It is now essentially a suburb of Cotonou and at its closest it begins approximately 18 km from ...

and at the Major Seminary of Saint Gall in

Ouidah Ouidah (English: ; French: ) or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch), and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on t ...

. From 1988 to 1999 he was Rector of the Benin Propaedeutic Seminary at Missérété,

Porto Novo , , ; ; ; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the capital and second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. In 1863, following British bombardment, Porto-Novo accepted French ...

. In the late 70s, Adoukonou was a student of the then professor

at the

. He kept in touch with his former professor, turned Archbishop, then a month later, Cardinal, going on to become Prefect of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

, and finally Pope in 2005, under the name of Benedict XVI. At the end of 2009 when the nomination of the new Secretary of the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture () was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May 1982 and in 1993 he merged the Po ...

was due to take place, its president Gianfranco Ravasi, spoke to the Pope Benedict, suggesting the possible addition of a figure from Africa, to assist him as he felt that the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

was at risk of becoming too Italianised. Benedict seized the opportunity stating: “I have a candidate,” giving Adoukonou’s name to Ravasi. In December 2009, Adoukonou was appointed the secretary, or second-ranking official, of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Adoukonou, is a member of the Ratzinger Schulerkreis (an informal group composed of Ratzinger’s former students) and accordingly, he participated in it 2011 annual meeting which discussed new evangelization. On 10 September 2011, Adoukonou was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of '' Zama Minor''. He received episcopal consecration at the hands of

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

on 8 October 2011 along with

Giuseppe Sciacca Giuseppe Sciacca (born 23 February 1955) is the current Secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura since his appointment by Pope Francis on July 16, 2016, replacing the retiring Archbishop Frans Daneels. Previously, he had serv ...

. On 29 December 2011 he was appointed a member of the

Pontifical Council for Social Communications The Pontifical Council for Social Communications () was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communication (now the Dicastery for Communication). According to '' Pastor bonus'', Po ...

for a five-year renewable term.NOMINA DI MEMBRI DEL PONTIFICIO CONSIGLIO DELLE COMUNICAZIONI SOCIALI

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adoukonou, Barthelemy Living people 1942 births 21st-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Beninese Roman Catholic bishops Paris Descartes University alumni Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture Members of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI