By Paschal Norbert
As Benin and Rome unite in the call for beatification, the Church rediscovers the timeless witness of Africa’s towering cardinal.
COTONOU, MAY 30, 2025 (CISA) – The soil of Toffo, a quiet commune in southern Benin, has long known the weight of ancestral footsteps and the whispers of Christian mission. But among the names etched into the red earth, none rises taller than that of Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, a son of Africa whose legacy took root in his homeland and stretched across the Roman Curia, reaching
the very heart of the Vatican.
Now, nearly two decades after his death in 2008, the Church is formally advancing the cause for his beatification, the first major step toward sainthood, and the cry for recognition of his sanctity rings loud from both Benin and Rome. On January 30, 2025, the Episcopal Conference of the Italian Region of Lazio, which includes the Catholic Diocese of Rome, the seat of the pope, issued a favourable opinion to open the cause. Just months later, from May 21 to 23, the bishops of Benin echoed that call during their 75th plenary session at the Grand Seminary Mgr Louis Parisot de Tchanvedji.
“Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, this giant of faith born on our Beninese soil, is on his way to beatification!” announced Fr Anicet Gnanvi, communications director for the Bishops’ Conference of Benin. “It is an immense joy for us to see the beatification process begin.”
But who was this man, whose life is now being examined not just through historical memory, but through the lens of holiness?
Born on May 8, 1922, in Toffo, in the then French colony of Dahomey-Benin, Bernardin Gantin’s story is as intertwined with the faith journey of West Africa as it is with the institutional heart of the Catholic Church. His name, “Gantin,” means “tree of iron,” a fitting metaphor for the strength and rootedness he would embody. Raised in a devout family, his father a railroad worker, young Bernardin absorbed the witness of returned African slaves, Afro-Brazilian Catholics, who brought Christianity home from the Americas after the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade. Their resilience, shaped by Gospel hope, set the foundation for his vocation.
In 1936, he entered the minor seminary, beginning a life-long journey of service. Ordained in 1951 in Lomé, Togo, by Archbishop Louis Parisot, he was soon appointed as a teacher and immersed himself in pastoral ministry among village communities. This dual life, scholar and shepherd, would mark the entirety of his ecclesial path.
Gantin’s talents drew attention. In 1953, he was sent to Rome to study theology and canon law at the Pontifical Urban University and the Lateran, a rare privilege for an African priest of that era. There he was formed not only intellectually, but spiritually, deepening his personal motto: In tuo sancto servitio (“In Your Holy Service”).
His rise through the hierarchy was both rapid and revolutionary. By 1956, he had been named Auxiliary Bishop of Cotonou, and four years later, in 1960, Pope John XXIII appointed him Archbishop, succeeding his mentor, Archbishop Parisot. As shepherd of Cotonou, Gantin distinguished himself by founding schools, encouraging vocations, supporting catechists, and dividing the diocese for more effective pastoral care.
He became President of the Episcopal Conference for West Africa, covering seven nations, before being called to Rome in 1971, a monumental moment not only for him but for Africa. In the Vatican, he first served as Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Then, in a steady ascent that would be almost unparalleled for a non-European, he became President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace.
But his most significant appointment came in 1984, when Pope John Paul II named him Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, a post from which he would help shape the global episcopate for nearly 15 years. In 1986, he was also named Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina, and in 1993, he was elected Dean of the College of Cardinals, the first African, and the only non-European to ever hold this powerful and symbolic position. His role made him a principal figure in papal conclaves and gave him stewardship over the very body that elects the pope.
“‘Crux, Hostia, Virgo’ – the Cross, the Host, and the Virgin – these three words, full of meaning, always guided the life of Cardinal Gantin,” wrote his biographer, Fr Augustin Yédia Tossou, adding “He was truly a man of deep spirituality and constant prayer, eager to show everyone the path that leads to heaven.”
Despite the heights he reached, Gantin never abandoned his roots. In 2002, with the blessing of Pope John Paul II, he resigned from his Vatican offices and returned to Cotonou.
“I left Rome in body but not in spirit,” he said, noting “I am a Roman missionary in my country.”
His final years were marked by pastoral reflection and prophetic critiques. In 2006, he cautioned African bishops against excessive travel, urging them to remain close to their flocks. He also warned against the temptation for African clergy to seek comfort abroad, stating plainly: “The European religious congregations on their last legs… should not go seeking cheap reinvigoration among the young Churches in Asia or Africa.”
When he died on May 13, 2008, in Paris, just five days after his 86th birthday, the entire Catholic world mourned. Benin declared three days of national mourning. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI visited his tomb in Ouidah. In 2013, the Pontifical Lateran University established a chair in his honour devoted to “Socializing Policy in Africa.” Even the international airport in Cotonou was renamed to honor him, the Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport is an airport in the Cadjehoun neighborhood of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, a tribute to a man who had flown so far, yet remained so close to home.
The current push for his beatification stems from Rome, where he lived and served for decades. While canonization causes usually originate in the place of death or longest ministry, Gantin’s case being launched in Lazio, rather than Benin, underscores his identity not only as an African prelate but as a servant of the Universal Church.
Indeed, the Church is calling upon the faithful to pray and support the cause. The process will now involve meticulous investigation, testimonies of virtue, and, if approved, the recognition of a miracle.
But for those who knew him, or have studied his luminous life, the evidence is already written in hearts across continents. From the red earth of Toffo to the marble corridors of the Apostolic Palace, Cardinal Bernardin Gantin was a man of profound humility, service, and sanctity.
As his cause for beatification progresses, the Church may soon affirm what many have long believed: that Bernardin Gantin, the tree of iron, was a saint rooted in Africa, and planted for the whole world.
