Benjamin Ndiaye (born 28 October 1948) is a Senegalese Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar (, French: ''Archidiocèse catholique romain de Dakar'') is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Dakar in Senegal. History * February 2, 1863: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Se ...

, Senegal, from 22 December 2014 until his age-related retirement on 22 February 2025. Before that, from 15 June 2001 until 22 December 2014, he was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kaolack, Senegal. He was appointed bishop on 15 June 2001 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He was consecrated and installed at

Kaolack Kaolack (; ) is a town with a population of 298,904 (2023 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River about from its mouth and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack ...

, on 24 November 2001 by Archbishop

Théodore-Adrien Sarr Théodore-Adrien Sarr (born 28 November 1936) Benoist, Joseph-Roger de, Histoire de l'Eglise catholique au Sénégal du milieu du XVe siècle à l'aube du troisième millénaire", KARTHALA Editions (2008), pp. 511–16, (Retrieved : 16 July 2012) ...

, Archbishop of Dakar. His age-related request to retire from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of Dakar, Senegal, was accepted on 22 February 2025 by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, and Bishop

André Guèye André Guèye (born 6 January 1967) is a Senegalese Catholic prelate who was appointed as the 5th Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar, Senegal on 22 February 2025. Before that, from 18 January 2013 until 22 February 2025, he w ...

was appointed as his successor as the archbishop of Dakar.

Background and education

He was born on 28 October 1948, in Fadiouth,

Thiès Region Thiès (; ; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis. It is the capital of Thiès Regio ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. He studied at seminaries and universities in Senegal,

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

in Switzerland,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

Priest

He was ordained a priest on 21 August 1977 by Cardinal

Hyacinthe Thiandoum Hyacinthe Thiandoum (2 February 1921 – 18 May 2004) was the first native Archbishop of Dakar (Senegal) and who was elevated to the cardinalate in mid-1976 by Pope Paul VI. Born 1921 in Poponguine, Senegal, his father was a catechist. After fin ...

. He served as a priest until 15 June 2001. As a priest he served in many positions of responsibility including as

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Archdiocese of Dakar.

As bishop

On 15 Jun 2001,

appointed him as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kaolack, Senegal. He was consecrated and installed at

on 24 November 2001 by the hands of Archbishop

, Archbishop of Dakar assisted by Bishop Pierre Sagna, Bishop of Saint-Louis du Sénégal and Bishop

Jacques Yandé Sarr Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

, Bishop of Thiès. On 22 December 2014,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed him archbishop of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of Dakar. He succeeded

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

, who retired. Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye was installed at Dakar on 21 February 2015. He served there as archbishop until 22 February 2025. On 22 February 2025,

accepted the age-related resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of Dakar, Senegal, presented by Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye. The Holy Father appointed Bishop

, formerly of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Thiès, Senegal, as the new archbishop at Dakar.

References

Succession table

External links