ACCRA MARCH 1, 2016(CISA) – Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has been elected the new president of The Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) and The Regional Episcopal Conference of Francophone West Africa (CERAO).
Archbishop Kaigama takes over from Cardinal Théodore Adrien Sarr, Archbishop Emeritus of Dakar, Senegal.
He was elected at the end of the regional conference of 150 West African Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops from sixteen countries in Accra, Ghana that begun on February 22 to 29, 2016.
The bishops prayed together and reflected on the universal theme of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy promulgated by Pope Francis, according to a statement sent to CISA.
The Bishops also unveiled a pastoral communique during the closing Mass in which they affirmed the values of reconciliation, marriage and family life in nation building.
The Conference Episcopale Regionale de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CERAO) and the Anglophone Catholic Bishops Region in West Africa (AECAWA) merged to form one union in 2007.
Former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings participated in the opening ceremonies of the plenary while Ghana’s former presidential chief of staff, John Newman represented the Republican president John Dramani Mahama.
President Mahama however attended the closing Mass in person.
