His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah

Speaker at the 2016 Breakfast

Read Speech

Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop emeritus of Conakry (Guinea), was born on 15 June 1945 in Ourous, Guinea. After middle school, he was obliged to leave home in order to continue his studies at the minor seminary in Bingerville, Ivory Coast. Following Guinea’s independence in 1958, he returned home and completed his studies.

He was ordained priest on 20 July 1969 in Conakry.

After his ordination, he earned a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a licentiate in Scripture at the “Studium Biblicum Franciscanum” in Jerusalem.

Upon completion of his studies, he was nominated rector of the minor seminary of Kindia, and served as parish priest in Bokè, Katace, Koundara and Ourous.

On 13 August 1979, he was appointed Archbishop of Conakry at the age of 34, making him the youngest bishop in the world and called “the baby bishop” by John Paul II. He was consecrated on 8 December 1979.

On 1 October 2001, he was appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

On 7 October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him president of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”.

On 23 November 2014 he was nominated Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

© 2024 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. The NCPB is a registered 501c3 charitable organization with Tax ID #20-0408543.