n the summer of 1991 Deacon Antonio M. Santoro made a visit to the hospital “la Croix” of the Camillian Fathers in Zinvié. Struck by the basic needs of the people and of the pastoral need, he returned to Italy and asked and obtained permission from the superior to start a mission in Benin. On December 13, 1992 Deacon Antonio and Friar Giovanni M. Arena inaugurated the first FI mission in Africa. The Archbishop of Cotonou, Mons. Isidoro de Souza, formalized their presence with a canonical letter of reception, and knowing the charism of the institute, entrusted the creation and management of the catholic radio and the Marian sanctuary. After 2 years of hospitality in the house of the Camillians, the two friars established themselves on the small hill of Allada about 50 kilometers north of Cotonou. In 1995 the community was reinforced by some young brothers and Fr. Alfonso M. Bruno. In 1998 the Radio Immaculée Conception was inaugurated officially. The missionary Fr. Basil M. Arthadeva died in the hospital of Zinvié in 1999. The Radio apostolate of the friars began to transmit via satellite in 2000; the magazine Marie au Monde was launched in 2001, and the website Mediatrice.net was started. The new friary-seminary was inaugurated in 2004 dedicated to St. Pio of Pietrelcina and in December 2006 the work for the construction of the sanctuary was completed. The Sanctuary is dedicated to “Notre Dame de la Divine Miséricorde.”
2. Bembereke, Benin
I
n October 1948, two missionaries of the Society of African Missions founded the parish of Our Lady of the Street in Bembereke, a mission land of the first evangelization period among the two villages of Bembereke and Gando, with elementary school still in French. After a fire in the village damaged the church and the rectory house in 1950 and with the depopulation of west Gando, the missionaries at the end of the 1960’s decided to transfer the parish church to the center of Bembereke. The old parish, after a period of vacancy, in beginning of the 1980’s was dedicated to Our Lady of Peace and chosen for the annual (January) gathering of Christians from north of Benin for the purpose of pilgrimages. At the end of 1999, the new diocese of N’Daliwas erected and the church then renovated becoming a Marian Diocesan Sanctuary. On March 25 the sanctuary was entrusted to the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.
Benin, republic in western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey. It has a coastline of 121-km (75-mi) on the Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. This wedge-shaped land extends inland, to the north, about 670 km (about 415 mi), making it one of the smaller African countries.
Some women in Benin
Benin has a tropical climate. Its economy is based primarily on agriculture, and many of the country’s farmers work at a subsistence level. Although Benin experienced considerable economic growth during the 1990s, it remains one of the poorest countries in Africa.
Many different ethnic groups live in Benin. The Fon, along with the closely related Adja, are by far the largest. French is the official language of the country, but Fon and other African languages are widely spoken.
Benin was a colony within French West Africa from 1899 until it gained independence in 1960 as Dahomey. Dahomey was the name of one of the great African kingdoms of the 1700s and 1800s. It was based in Benin.
A series of military leaders brought many changes of government between 1960 and 1972, when a Marxist regime took charge. The country was renamed The People’s Republic of Benin in 1975. Economic difficulties in the late 1980s led Benin to seek closer ties with the West, and in 1989 the government renounced Marxist ideology. A new constitution and democratic reforms were introduced in 1990. Today, the Republic of Benin is a democracy with a president elected by the people.
Official name: Republic of Benin Capital: Porto-Novo Area: 112,622 sq km; 43,484 sq mi
People Population: 8,078,314 (2007 estimate)
Largest cities, with population Cotonou: 650,660 (2000 estimate) Porto-Novo: 232,756 (2000 estimate) Parakou: 144,627 (2000 estimate) Djougou: 132,000 (1994 estimate)
Ethnic groups African: (42 ethnic groups, the largest being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, and Bariba) 99 percent Other: 1 percent
Languages: French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), Bariba and Somba (most common vernaculars in north), indigenous languages
Religions Indigenous beliefs: 52 percent Roman Catholic: 21 percent Muslim 20 percent Protestant: 4 percent Other: 3 percent
Literacy rate Total : 43.2 percent (2005 estimate) Female: 28.4 percent (2005 estimate) Male: 58.8 percent (2005 estimate) Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP): 3.3 percent (2002-2003) Number of years of compulsory schooling: 6 years (2002-2003) Number of students per teacher, primary school: 62 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government Form of government: multiparty republic Constitution: 2 December 1990 Armed forces Total number of military personnel 4,550 (2004)
Economy Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$): $4.3 billion (2005) GDP per capita (U.S.$): $508.10 (2005) GDP by economic sector: Agriculture, forestry, fishing: 32.2 percent (2005) Industry: 13.4 percent (2005) Services: 54.4 percent (2005)
Employment Number of workers: 3,296,439 (2005) Workforce share of economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing: 64 percent (1990) Industry: 8 percent (1990) Services: 28 percent (1990)
Monetary unit 1 Communaut* Financière Africaine (CFA) franc, consisting of 100 centimes
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The Word Was Made Flesh is a monthly missionary review of MISSiOMARIAE.NET. It publishes articles on the missions and related topics such as the Directives of the Magisterium on the missions, Apostolic spirituality, Mariology, homilies and sermons and more...
