"He who preaches with love, preaches effectively.”

St. Francis de Sales

Benin - French West Africa

In Benin-French West Africa, Oblate ministries nurture the whole person.

Key Missions

Oblates Formation

  • Who is Served: Youth aspirants, postulants, novices, and scholastics

  • People Served: 8 postulants and 5 novices in Parakou; 18 scholastics in Abidjan

  • Why It Exists: To form young men for religious life and future Oblate ministries

Student Chaplaincy

  • Who is Served: Students aged 18-30

  • People Served: 1,450 young men and women

  • Why It Exists: To provide faith-based education and spiritual formation to university students

School Pastoral Care (Parakou)

  • Who is Served: Children and their families in the southwestern suburbs of Parakou

  • People Served: 843 children and their families

  • Why It Exists: To implement Salesian spirituality and educational support for children and adolescents

Boarding House for Boys

  • Who is Served: Rural schoolboys

  • People Served: 19 boys this academic year

  • Why it Exists: To offer safe, quality education and protection from violence and extremism

Sport & Health: Salesian Marathon of Parakou

  • Who is Served: Children, youth, adults, and the wider community

  • People Reached: Over 2 million people regionally

  • Why It Exists: To promote health, unity, interreligious dialogue, and Salesian values through sport

The Salesian Marathon of Parakou, one of the region’s unique missions, encapsulates the importance of movement and faith for well-being. 

“We need more than ever before to bring our energy together, spiritual energy, psychological energy, human energy, and the financial and material resources to be able to bring Jesus' message across so that this world becomes a peaceful world. A place where differences are not a reason to fight…We can’t let race, gender, religion, nationality, or even distance allow us to divide one another.” - Fr. Guillaume A. Kambounon, OSFS, Regional Superior

Parish Ministries (Parakou & Djougou)

  • Who is Served: Urban and rural parish communities

  • People Served: 5,000 people in Parakou; 2,000 people in Alfa-kpara (Djougou)

  • Why It Exists: To provide pastoral care, sacraments, and faith formation in growing communities

Salesianum Project

  • Who is Served: Young university students

  • People Served: 23,000 students

  • Why It Exists: To develop a major student center for youth formation in Benin’s first university city

Diocesan Ceremonial Service

  • Who is Served: Diocesan community of Parakou

  • Why It Exists: To support the local Church through liturgical service

Diocesan Communications

  • Who is Served: Diocesan community of Parakou

  • Why It Exists: To enhance Church communication through Salesian-inspired outreach

Group of children and a man in a blue Superman shirt, wearing a hat, gathered outside a school building in an outdoor setting.
Group of ten people, including men and women of different ages and ethnicities, posing for a photo inside a store or market. They are smiling, and some are holding colorful fabric items.
Group of marathon runners and participants at the starting line of the Saint François de Sales Marathon in Parakou, with signage above indicating the marathon's name and distance