Pope Leo XIV Appoints Coadjutor Bishop of Senegal’s Kolda Diocese

Kolda, 13 January, 2026 / 11:07 PM

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Mons. Joseph Francis Badji of the Diocese of Ziguinchor in Senegal, as Coadjutor Bishop of the country’s Kolda Diocese, granting him the “right of succession” in accordance with Canon 403 §3 of the Code of Canon Law. 

The appointment of Mons. Badji, who until now serves as the Rector of the Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Saint Jean Marie Vianney of Brin, Ziguinchor, was made public by the Holy See Press Office on Friday, January 10.

As Coadjutor Bishop, he will assist Bishop Jean-Pierre Bassène, the current Local Ordinary of Kolda Diocese, who has been at the helm of the Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in April 2000 and is to automatically succeed him upon the vacancy of the Senegalese Episcopal See, ensuring a smooth and orderly pastoral transition.

Born on 1 January 1966 in the Catholic Diocese of Ziguinchor, the Coadjutor Bishop elect was ordained a Priest on 28 December 1994 after completing his Priestly studies in Philosophy at the Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Saint Jean Marie Vianney of Brin and Theology at the Grand Séminaire François Libermann in Sebikhotane.

The holder of a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of West Africa (UCAO) in Abidjan has previously served as the Vicar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories in Kolda, and as Formator and Professor in the Philosophy Cycle at the Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Saint Jean Marie Vianney of Brin.

Before being appointed to his current position as Rector of the Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Saint Jean Marie Vianney in Brin, he served as coordinator for the ongoing formation of Priests.

With the right to succeed Bishop Bassène, the Coadjutor Bishop-elect will serve as the immediate collaborator of the Senegalese Bishop in the Diocese, which measures 21,011 square kilometers and has a population of 35,930 Catholics, representing 2.8 percent of the total population, according to 2023 statistics.

After the succession of the incumbent Bishop, who has less than one year to attain the Canonical age of retirement, the Coadjutor Bishop-elect will become the second Local Ordinary of the Diocese that was erected on 22 December 1999.