Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cotonou

The Archdiocese of Cotonou (Archidioecesis Cotonuensis) is the Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Cotonou in Benin. It is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Cotonou.

History

 * 26 June 1883: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Dahomey from the Apostolic Vicariate of Benin Coast, Nigeria]
 * 25 May 1901: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Dahomey
 * 13 May 1948: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Ouidah
 * 14 September 1955: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cotonou

Special churches
The seat of the archbishop is the cathedral of Notre Dame de Miséricorde (Our Lady of Mercy) in Cotonou. Basilique de l'Immaculée Conception (Basilica of the Immaculate Conception) is a minor basilica in Cotonou.

Bishops

 * Metropolitan Archbishops of Cotonou, in reverse chronological order
 * Antoine Ganyé:since 21 August 2010; formerly bishop of Dassa-Zoume, Benin
 * Marcel Honorat Léon Agboton: 5 March 2005 - 21 August 2010
 * Nestor Assogba: 29 October 1999 – 5 March 2005
 * Isidore de Souza: 27 December 1990 – 13 March 1999
 * Christophe Adimou: 28 June 1971 – 27 December 1990
 * Bernardin Gantin: 5 January 1960 – 28 June 1971; appointed Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; future cardinal

Coadjutor archbishop

 * Isidore de Souza (1981-1990)

Auxiliary bishop

 * Bernardin Gantin (1956-1960), appointed Archbishop here; future cardinal

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

 * Lucien Monsi-Agboka, appointed Bishop of Abomey in 1963
 * Martin Adjou Moumouni, appointed Bishop of N'Dali in 1999
 * Eugène Cyrille Houndékon, appointed Bishop of Abomey in 2007

Suffragan dioceses

 * Abomey
 * Dassa-Zoumé
 * Lokossa
 * Porto Novo