A cardinal in Burkina Faso said that the naming of a street after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI brought “hope” to the country, Africa, and the world.

Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo spoke at a June 13, 2021, ceremony unveiling the newly named Rue Pape Benoît XVI (Pope Benedict XVI Street) in the capital, Ouagadougou.

The thoroughfare was previously called street 54.160, reported ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner. It is the location of the country’s apostolic nunciature.

At the ceremony, Ouédraogo described Benedict XVI as a great pastor whose name “brings hope to Burkina Faso, to Africa, and to the world and promotes the spirit of dialogue, reconciliation, justice, and peace in the hearts of all people.”

Pope Benedict XVI died on Dec. 31, 2022, at age 95. He served as pope from 2005 until his retirement in 2013.

“Let us make this street a place where peace awakens faith,” the archbishop of Ouagadougou said at the ceremony.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa with a population of 20 million people, approximately 19% of whom are baptized Catholics.

Source: CNA

In the photo, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Michael Crotty unveils the new sign of Pope Benedict XVI Street in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou.