Diplomacy: Olushegun Bakari meets with Cardinal Parolin on a visit to Benin
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, arrived in Cotonou on Saturday, November 15, 2025.
Sent as a special envoy of Pope Leo XIV, he was welcomed at the airport by the foreign minister, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, for a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the ordination of Mgr Éric Soviguidi.
The meeting comes at a symbolic moment for the Beninese Church. In August 2025, the Pope had elevated Mgr Soviguidi to the rank of Titular Archbishop of Cerenza before entrusting him with a dual diplomatic mission to Niger and Burkina Faso, two countries at the heart of major security challenges in the subregion.
Three months later, his ordination brought together the faithful, diplomats and ecclesiastical authorities at the Sacré-Cœur Church in Cotonou, presided over by Cardinal Parolin.
Ahead of the ceremony, the head of Benin’s diplomacy and the Vatican’s No. 2 met for about forty-five minutes. Olushegun Adjadi Bakari highlighted the depth and quality of the bilateral dialogue between Benin and the Holy See, a relationship built on trust, diplomatic stability and a sustained commitment to human values.
He also praised the appointment of Mgr Soviguidi, seen as a source of national pride and a strong sign of Benin’s place in ecclesiastical diplomacy. Entrusted in a challenging regional context, this mission restores a strategic dimension to the Church’s role in seeking peace, stability and cohesion among peoples.
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