Gambia to Host West Africa Religious Heads

The Diocese of Banjul, The Gambia will be hosting the Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, representatives of priests, religious and lay faithful from the English speaking West African Countries from 4th to 8th August 2009. Such meetings of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA) take place every three years. About 120 Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Religious and Lay Delegates are expected from all over AECAWA, as well as some from the Francophone Conferences.

This is the second time The Gambia will be hosting such a high-profile Catholic religious gathering. The first one was held in 1992, but then the association was much smaller.

The five-day AECAWA conference will have three main components.

Firstly, it will be a pastoral visit to The Gambia. The Cardinals and Bishops are coming to meet us, pray with us and for us and leave their blessings on our Church and on our country. Secondly, they will hold a seminar/workshop on a very crucial contemporary theme: "Youth and Migration in West Africa."

Thirdly, they will attend to the ordinary administrative needs of the AECAWA as the pastors of our sub-region, in a spirit of communion and collegiality.

A local planning committee has already been designated to start work on the preparations for this important conference. This AECAWA conference is ours to host and we hope to accomplish this challenge in a way that will do justice to the reputation of The Gambia as a place of welcome, hospitality and competence.