73rd Ordinary Plenary Session of the Bishops of Benin
We receive from our correspondent in Benin (Wolou P. Aristide) and gladly publish
A jubilant crowd
Since Sunday November 10, 2024, the town of Lokossa (in Benin) has been celebrating. All the bishops of Benin gathered for their very first ordinary plenary session of the 2024 – 2025 pastoral year.
A solemn rite of welcome took place on the Cathedral’s forecourt, followed by an opening mass presided over by Bishop Aristide Gonssalo of Porto Novo, surrounded by all the bishops.
The mass was attended by religious dignitaries, the city’s political and administrative authorities and a huge crowd from several regions of the country.
Three days of work
Work began on Monday 11th and will continue until Wednesday 13th November 2024.
The first two days were marked by a number of speeches and the presentation of initiatives and summaries from the group work. Participants also committed to internalizing Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si and his apostolic exhortation Laudato Deum. They also discovered the Economy of Communion of the Focolare Movement and the Economy of Francis. Very interested in these new ways of living the economy, they all made a commitment to be trained in them, to extend this training to young people and to have trainers trained nationally. The commitment was also made to encourage eco-actions to protect our common home, to encourage youth entrepreneurship and the consumption of local products.
Great involvement
In addition to all the bishops of Benin, the meeting is attended by diocesan directorates for Catholic education and catechesis, delegates from Benin’s Catholic universities, Benin’s national Laudato Si committee, the Ministry of the Environment and Transport responsible for sustainable development, and the ecumenical and interfaith committee.
This Wednesday, November 13, the activities will conclude with a message delivered by the spokesman of the Bishops’ Conference.
Our prayers go out to our bishops for a fruitful new pastoral year.