See Addis Abeba Ordination 4 July 1976 Appointed July 7, 1999 | Nationality Ethiopian Consecration January 25, 1998 Name Berhaneyesus Souraphiel | |
 | ||
Other posts President of Council of the Ethiopian ChurchPresident of Ethiopian and Eritrean Episcopal ConferenceCardinal-Priest of San Romano MartireMember of the Congregation for the Oriental ChurchesMember of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants Born 14 July 1948 (age 76) Tchela Claka ( 1948-07-14 ) Archdiocese Ethiopian Catholic Archeparchy of Addis Abeba | ||
Created cardinal February 14, 2015 | ||
Inside the synod interview with cardinal berhaneyesus demerew souraphiel cm ethiopian
Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel (born Tchela Claka, Ethiopia, 14 July 1948) is an Ethiopian Catholic cardinal. He is the head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church since his election in 1999, Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop of Addis Abeba, and the Chancellor for The Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Francis in 2015.
Contents
- Inside the synod interview with cardinal berhaneyesus demerew souraphiel cm ethiopian
- Early life and priesthood
- Episcopate
- Cardinal
- References
Early life and priesthood
Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel was born on 14 July 1948 in Tchela Claka, near Harar in Ethiopia. He studied at the Makanissa Major Seminary and entered in the Congregation of the Mission (popularly known as Lazarists or Vincentians). He studied Theology at King's College London and was ordained Catholic priest on 4 July 1976. He also earned a degree in sociology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Episcopate
In 1990 Berhaneyesus Souraphiel became Provincial superior of the Lazarists in Addis Ababa. In 1994 he was appointed as Prefect of the Apostolic Vicariate of Jimma-Bonga. On 7 November 1997 he was chosen as auxiliary bishop of Addis Abeba and was consecrated bishop on 25 January 1998 by Cardinal Paulos Tzadua. On 7 July 1999 he succeeded to Cardinal Paulos Tzadua as Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop of Addis Abeba.
In December 2008, he was one of a dozen Ethiopian religious figures who adopted a resolution against homosexuality, urging Ethiopian lawmakers to endorse a ban on homosexual activity in the constitution.
He was elected as the chairman of AMECEA during the 18th Plenary Assembly in Malawi in July, 2014. At the same session, Rt. Rev. Maurice Muhatia Makumba, Bishop of Nakuru (Kenya), was elected Chairman of the University Council (www.cuea.edu/Harmon).
Cardinal
On 4 January 2015, Pope Francis announced that he would make him a cardinal on 14 February. At that ceremony, he was made a Cardinal-Priest and was assigned the titular church of San Romano Martire.
He was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; and of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.