Death and Mourning
Gantin died in Paris on 13 May 2008, five days after his 86th birthday. The Beninese government declared three days of mourning for him, beginning on 14 May.
Following his death, a telegram was sent by Pope Benedict XVI to Marcel Honorat Léon Agboton, the current Archbishop of Cotonou, after the death of Gantin was announced. The telegram described Gantin as "an eminent son of Benin and Africa who won great respect within the universal Church". The Pope wrote "I ask God the Father, from Whom all mercy comes, to welcome into His light and peace this eminent son of Benin and of Africa who, universally esteemed, was animated by a profound apostolic spirit and by an exalted sense of the Church and her mission in the world."
Read more about this topic: Bernardin Gantin
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