Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has approved a new statute for the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, giving the charity a renewed legal and institutional framework to continue its mission of supporting people affected by drought, desertification and hunger in the Sahel region.
The decision was taken during an audience with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on January 29. It was made public through a rescript released on Thursday by the Holy See Press Office.
The updated statute aligns the Foundation with the current rules governing legal entities linked to the Roman Curia and with regulations concerning the patrimony of the Apostolic See. The Foundation is defined as an instrumental legal entity of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and is governed by canon law and Vatican civil law.
The legal headquarters of the Foundation remains in the Vatican, while its operational base continues to be in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel was established on February 22, 1984, following an appeal made by John Paul II during his visit to Ouagadougou in 1980. At the time, he drew global attention to the severe lack of water and food in the region and to the advance of desertification, calling on the world to act in solidarity with the people of the Sahel.
According to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the new statute is the result of a long and shared reform process. A key step in this process was the appointment in December 2024 of Bishop Florent Hassa Koné of San in Mali as pontifical delegate to accompany the final stages of reform in close dialogue with the Holy See. The work involved cooperation with the Secretariat of State, the Secretariat for the Economy and the Vatican Governorate.
With the revised statute, the Foundation is expected to work more closely with local churches and communities, allowing it to respond more quickly and effectively to the challenges facing the region.
The Foundation operates in nine Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad. Its main purpose is to promote the training of people who serve their communities without discrimination, in a spirit of integral human development and solidarity. It also supports projects aimed at combating desertification and assisting victims of drought.
Priority areas include training local facilitators and experts, as well as funding initiatives in technical development, health care, agriculture, socio economic development, environmental protection and overall human development.
Pope also makes available to the Foundation the proceeds of collections organized in churches around the world for the benefit of the Sahel.
The governing bodies of the Foundation include the Board of Directors, the President, the Vice President, the Secretary General, the Auditor and the Treasurer. The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled to take place in mid February in Dakar, Senegal.