“I count on your prayers and support”: Newly Elected Diocesan Administrator in Senegal

He adds, “It is in all humility and confidence that I accept this service that has been asked of me.”

“As dean of the Council of Consultors, it was my responsibility to lead the life of this council after the departure of Bishop Mamba. It was to my great surprise that the members chose me, although I had hoped for someone younger than me to bring new blood to the diocese,” the newly-elected Diocesan Administrator says.

A member of the clergy in Senegal’s Ziguinchor Diocese, Mons. Coly was ordained a Priest in April 1985. 

At the beginning of his Priestly ministry, he served as professor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at St. Louis Minor Seminary, then of Physics-Chemistry at St. Charles Lwanga College, from 1987, after having been trained in Canada. 

He also served as Bursar at Notre Dame Minor Seminary from 1992 to 1998 and as Ceremonial Administrator for Bishop Augustin Sagna and Bishop Maixent Coly.

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For a decade, Mons. Coly served as Secretary General of John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, whose headquarters is in Burkina Faso’s capital city, Ouagadougou, from 1999 to 2009. 

At the end of his mandate, he was awarded the honorary title of "Chaplain of His Holiness" by Pope Benedict XVI, for services rendered to the people of God as a Priest.

Since 2010, the new Diocesan Administrator of Ziguinchor has been serving as head of the Diocesan Caritas and as Episcopal Vicar in charge of Social Action in the Diocesan Curia.

Mons. Coly is expected to temporarily oversee Ziguinchor Diocese, which measures 7,339 km² with an estimated population of 627,220 Catholics, representing 22.3 percent of the population, according to 2020 statistics.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.