On Saturday, July 30th, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) will elect its new President.
The President of the SECAM is the highest-ranking official of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa. Its outgoing President of the SECAM is His Eminence Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, from Burkina Faso.
The SECAM, established in 1969 in Kampala, Uganda during the visit of St. Pope Paul VI, was born out of the desire of African Catholic Bishops present at the Second Vatican Council to speak with one voice on matters pertaining to the Church in Africa.
The Symposium, headquartered in Accra, consists of eight regional associations:
– Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC);
– Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central African Region (ACERAC);
– Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt (AHCE);
– Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA);
– Episcopal Conferences of the Indian Ocean (CEDOI);
– Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa (CERNA);
– Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA);
– Reunion of Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA/CERAO).
