Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM (; born 14 July 1948) is a prelate of the

Ethiopian Catholic Church The Ethiopian Catholic Churchis a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ethiopia. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. Established in 1930, the church is organi ...

, which he has headed since his election as Archbishop of Addis Abeba in 1999. He is also the chancellor of the

Catholic University of Eastern Africa Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) is a multi-campus private university in Kenya. It is accredited by the Commission for University Education in Kenya. Location The main campus of the university is located along Bogani East Road, in ...

and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia and Eritrea. He was made a

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 ...

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 ...

in 2015. He was imprisoned by the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

in 1979–80. A member of the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...

, he directed the order's novitiate in the mid-1980s and was provincial superior from 1990 to 1994. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of Addis Abeba for 18 months before becoming archbishop.

Early life and priesthood

Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel was born on 14 July 1948 in Tchela Claka, near

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

. He first attended public schools and those run by the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, and then others run by the Capuchins and the De La Salle Brothers. He entered the minor seminary of the

(known as "Lazarists" or "Vincentians") in 1963. He studied at the Makanissa Major Seminary beginning in 1968. He studied theology at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and was ordained a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

on 4 July 1976. He fulfilled parish assignments in southwestern Ethiopia until, in June 1979, he was jailed by Ethiopia's military dictatorship for seven months, including one month in solitary confinement. When the government expelled foreign missionaries, he was left with responsibility for 15 parishes in addition to his original assignment. When sent into exile himself, he earned a degree in sociology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. He returned to Ethiopia in 1983.

Episcopate

In 1990 Berhaneyesus Souraphiel became

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of the Lazarists in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

. In 1994 he was appointed prefect of the newly created

Apostolic Vicariate of Jimma-Bonga Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

. On 7 November 1997,

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 ...

appointed him

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Addis Abeba and he was consecrated a bishop on 25 January 1998 by Cardinal

Paulos Tzadua Paulos Tzadua (25 August 1921–11 December 2003) was an Ethiopian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Addis Abeba and head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church from 1977 to 1998. He was made the first-ever Ethiopian cardinal in 1985. Lif ...

. On 7 July 1999 he succeeded Paulos Tzadua as Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop of Addis Abeba. In 2005, he established the Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He has served as its chancellor and toured the United States to raise funds through an organization founded by Archbishop

Silvano Tomasi Silvano Maria Tomasi C.S. (born 12 October 1940) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Special Delegate to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta since 1 November 2020. He was the Permanent Observer of the Holy See ...

, a veteran Vatican diplomat. In December 2008, he was one of a dozen Ethiopian religious figures who adopted a resolution that called

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

"an infestation", and urged Ethiopian lawmakers to extend the country's criminalization of homosexual activity to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. He was elected chairman of the

Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) is the association of episcopal conferences of Eastern Africa and the coordinating body of the Catholic dioceses. The AMECEA was established in 1961, with Cardinal (Catholi ...

(AMECEA) during its 18th Plenary Assembly in Malawi in July 2014.

Cardinal

On 4 January 2015, Pope Francis announced that he would make him a

on 14 February. At that ceremony, he was made a

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

and was assigned the titular church of San Romano Martire. On 13 April 2015, he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named the Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches (), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible f ...

and of the

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People () was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia. The council, established by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988, was dedicated to the spiritual welfare of migrant and it ...

. In 2015, as part of a long campaign for national reconciliation following the end of the military council's authoritarian rule (1974–1987), he advocated for imprisoned Derg officials to have their death sentences commuted, and he met with several of them, including one who had arrested him years earlier, upon their release from prison. He has served as head of the Ethiopian Peace and Reconciliation Commission. In advance of the Synod on the Amazon, he said he viewed the question of married priests as secondary to more critical issues: "the Amazon is the lung of the world — and it was burning — and what action was being taken? And the indigenous people who are living there, what right have they been given by the nine countries which surround the Amazon? Did they get educational opportunities? Health opportunities? Opportunities to preserve their traditional values?" He participated as a

cardinal elector A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

in the

2025 papal conclave A conclave was held on 7 and 8 May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, Francis, who had died on 21 April 2025. Of the 135 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. Cardinal Piet ...

that elected

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

. Cardinal Souraphiel is also the first Ethiopian cardinal ever to participate in a papal conclave.

Notes

References

External links