The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Benin
This page contains a list of the greatest Beninese Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 Religious Figures, 1 of which were born in Benin. This makes Benin the birth place of the 112th most number of Religious Figures behind Guinea and Mongolia.
Top 1
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Beninese Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Beninese Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Bernardin Gantin (1922 - 2008)
With an HPI of 54.84, Bernardin Gantin is the most famous Beninese Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.
Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the hierarchy of the Church was unprecedented for an African and has been equaled by few non-Italians. He began his career in his native country first as an auxiliary bishop and then as archbishop of Cotonou. In 1971 he began his thirty-year career in the Curia. After he had spent several years in the role of senior assistant, he held a series of senior positions as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal in 1977, Pope John Paul II promoted him to the rank of cardinal bishop in 1986, and his peers elected him dean, the highest office in the College of Cardinals, in 1993. He retired to Benin when he turned 80.
Pantheon has 1 people classified as religious figures born between 1922 and 1922. Of these 1, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased religious figures include Bernardin Gantin.
