Early Life and Ordination
Born in Toffo, Benin, his name means "tree of iron" (gan, iron and tin, tree ), which explains his coat of arms. He entered the minor seminary at age 14 in Benin, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1951 under Archbishop Louis Parisot, who was then the Archbishop of Cotonou. In 1953 he was sent to Rome to study Theology and Canon Law.
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