Summary
On January 29, 2026, Pope Leo XIV approved updated statutes for the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel during an audience with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. The initiative began in 1980 when Pope John Paul II appealed to the world to help the Sahel region suffering from water and food shortages and desertification. Established on February 22, 1984, the Foundation was created for integral human development with papal approval of its Statute. In December 2024, Bishop Florent Hassa Koné, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, was appointed as the Pontifical Delegate to help finalize reforms. The new statutes make the Foundation more flexible and allow it to better address local challenges by focusing on training local facilitators for desertification control and relief efforts in nine Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Chad. Its primary mission is to promote human promotion and solidarity through the development of local experts.
Key Topics
Pope Leo XIV, John Paul II Foundation, Sahel
