Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel was born on 14 July 1948 in Cheleleqa, Ethiopia. He entered the Lazarist (Vincentian) minor seminary in 1963, studied philosophy at the Makanissa Major Seminary, and from 1970 studied in London at the Missionary Institute, taking a bachelor of divinity at King's College. Ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Mission on 4 July 1976, he worked in southwestern Ethiopia until he was imprisoned by the communist regime from 1979 to 1980, including a month in solitary confinement. After his release he went to Rome and earned a licentiate in socio-economic development at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Back in Ethiopia from 1985, he directed the Lazarist novitiate, served as a parish priest and lectured at the Saint Francis Institute of Philosophy and Theology.
When the Apostolic Prefecture of Jimma-Bonga was erected on 10 June 1994 he became its first prefect. Appointed titular Bishop of Bita and Auxiliary Bishop of Addis Abeba, he was consecrated bishop on 25 January 1998, and on 7 July 1999 he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba, head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church. He served as president of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Bishops' Conference from 1999 and of the Council of the Ethiopian Church from 1998, and in 2014 he was elected chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). He later chaired Ethiopia's National Reconciliation and Peace Commission. Through the 2020–2022 Tigray war he and the Ethiopian bishops repeatedly called for an end to the fighting, and he welcomed the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement.
Pope Francis created him a cardinal on 14 February 2015, assigning him the titular church of San Romano Martire; he is a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. On 12 June 2026 Leo XIV accepted his resignation from the pastoral governance of Addis Abeba, and he became Archbishop Emeritus.
Consequential Quotes
We have a responsibility to be light and salt in this great country.
The Catholic Church does not support either one or the other party, but we are with the people who suffer.
To ensure sustainable peace throughout the country, I urge you to promote a spirit of closeness and reconciliation among our people and enable the displaced to return to their homes.
To learn life from Jesus and the saints, the seed of peace must die before it sows and bears fruit. Peace is not achieved by a defeatist principle, it does not know anything but a spirit of humility and forgiveness.
When you are locked in a room and the only thing you see is up on the wall a little window, where sometimes the birds pass by, you get jealous. You also become close to God; so close to your maker because you pray your prayers. I prayed very hard.
The faith, the culture and the history are inter-related. You cannot separate the faith from their daily living and their culture and their history.
Major Works & Initiatives
First Apostolic Prefect of Jimma-Bonga
Became the first Apostolic Prefect of Jimma-Bonga when the prefecture was erected on 10 June 1994, in the region where he had earlier been imprisoned as a young priest.
Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba and conference president
Appointed Archbishop of Addis Abeba on 7 July 1999; as head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church he served as president of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Bishops' Conference and of the Council of the Ethiopian Church.
Chairman of AMECEA
Elected chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa in 2014, serving until 2018; also chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi.
Chair of the National Reconciliation and Peace Commission
Appointed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to chair Ethiopia's 41-member National Reconciliation and Peace Commission, work rooted in his own imprisonment under the Derg and his later forgiveness of the man who jailed him.
Controversies
Criticism over his voice during the Tigray war
During the 2020–2022 war in Tigray, Souraphiel and the Ethiopian bishops issued repeated statements urging both sides to stop the armed conflict and begin dialogue, and he welcomed the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement. He nevertheless faced criticism, reported by The Tablet at his retirement, for failing to speak out more forcefully against the Ethiopian government during the war. His defenders point to his record as an advocate of peace, dialogue and reconciliation, including his chairmanship of Ethiopia's National Reconciliation and Peace Commission.
Sources
- Holy See Press Office — biography
- Wikipedia
- Vatican News via Herald Malaysia — Cardinal Souraphiel: The Church is close to the people suffering in Ethiopia, 5 July 2024
- Catholic Standard — Visiting cardinal praises faith of Ethiopian Catholic community here
- Catholic University of America — Ethiopian Cardinal Discusses Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, 7 November 2019
- The Tablet — Ethiopian Catholic primate succeeded by Comboni missionary