“Do everything in humility”: Cardinal in Ivory Coast to Newly Consecrated Archbishop of Korhogo

The Archbishop of Abidjan also cautioned Mons. Koné against the quest for power, saying, “Take care that your heart is not corrupted by an unhealthy quest for power, which would alter the beauty of your ministry.”

“In Jesus, the King becomes a slave. The Bishop must be the very model of this servant. Through ordination, you receive power, but power that comes from God. You are made Priest, Prophet, and King, in the image of Christ, head and shepherd,” the Ivorian Catholic Church leader, who was created Cardinal during the 7 December 2024 Consistory said.

He underscored the value of paying attention to others in the exercise of the Episcopal Ministry, saying, “Listening is the key word in a synodal Church, where everyone walks with others in communion and participation. Exercise your authority with an ear to God and to the people.”

Mons. Koné was appointed the Archbishop of Korhogo on March 7. The 55-year-old was ordained a Priest in October 2008 after his Philosophical and Theological studies at the Grand Séminaire Saint Pierre de Daloa and Grand Séminaire National Saint Cœur de Marie in Anyama, respectively.

In his maiden speech as Local Ordinary of Korhogo, Archbishop Koné said he received his appointment with humility and determination to serve the people of God.

“I don’t see this appointment as a promotion. As Psalm 130 says: ‘I have no proud heart, nor ambitious eyes. I hold my soul in peace, like a child against its mother.’ That mother is the Church,” he said.

Calling himself a “humble servant in the Lord’s vineyard,” he expressed his hope that his ministry would bear “beautiful and great fruit” for the people of Korhogo and beyond.

Archbishop Koné invited the people of God in his Metropolitan See to “accompany me in this mission. Together, let us cultivate unity within our Diocese. Hand in hand, let us work with sincerity to build a community of faith that bears witness to Christ throughout the region.”

He is the fourth Local Ordinary of the Korhogo Archdiocese, which measures 13,643 square kilometers with a Catholic population of 55,057, which represents 6.5 percent of the total population of the territory of the Archdiocese, according to 2024 statistics.

In October 1971, the Ivorian Metropolitan See was erected as the Diocese of Korhogo, having been carved out from Katiola Diocese. When it was erected a Metropolitan See on 19 December 1994, Korhogo Archdiocese lost the territories of Daloa Diocese and Man Diocese to the Diocese of Odienné.