“We want to make this museum the cradle of the history of our Church, a place where visitors will be able to know the history of our church from 1901 to 2020,” the Burkinabé Cardinal said during the event held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral premises in Ouagadougou, where the museum is located.
Named after the first Local Ordinary of Ouagadougou, Bishop Joanny Thévenoud, the museum is expected to provide a collection of information and material about faith testimonies of religious men and women, texts of scientific, cultural, ethnographic and artistic importance for the Christian community in general and for the Catholics in particular.
In his address during the October 10 event, Cardinal Ouedraogo who doubles as the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) said that the museum is expected to be a point of reference for Catholics and non-Catholics in Burkina Faso.
“We have members from other religious denominations who are here today and even Muslims,” the Cardinal said and continued, “This shows that our museum will not only benefit Catholics but also all our brothers and sisters from other religious denominations.”
The 75-year-old Cardinal further said, “This museum will strengthen our unity and our continuous quest for peace and stability in Burkina Faso.”
Speaking at the same event, the Coordinator of the museum, Fr. Modeste Tapsoba noted that the inauguration of the initiative is “the outcome of four years of research, collection of objects and documents, and consultation on the history of the Church in Burkina Faso.”
On his part, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Culture, Abdoul Karim Sango welcomed the initiative saying it falls in line with efforts made by the Church “to preserve our cultural and artistic heritage.”
“The Catholic Museum of Ouagadougou is the first from a religious community in our country, and even in the sub-region. This is to be noted and congratulated,” Minister Abdoul said.
