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"Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Anne-Béatrice Faye, a Senegalese nun, as one of 19 new consultors to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. The announcement was made on 19 January by the Holy See Press Office, recognising the career and commitment of a leading figure in ecclesial life in Senegal and Africa.

Currently head of the Institution of the Immaculate Conception in Senegal, Sister Anne-Béatrice Faye is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Castres. A renowned professor and theologian, she has established herself over the years as an academic and pastoral reference, both nationally and continentally.

Her academic career reflects a solid and diverse education. After studying at the Catholic Faculties of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she defended her doctoral thesis at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar in 2005. Her research focuses in particular on the promotion of women in African societies and their place in the Church.

Sister Anne-Béatrice Faye has taught at the Centre Saint-Augustin in Dakar and at the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute of Theology in Rabat, Morocco. She also collaborates with the African Research Group in Intercultural Philosophy and has been a member of the Academic Council of the Al Mowafaqa Institute, contributing to theological and intercultural dialogue.
 

Deeply committed to the synodal process, she participated in the global sessions of the Synod on Synodality in Rome between 2021 and 2024. Following this experience, she founded the “School of Synodality” in Dakar, a training program focused on listening, community discernment, and the participation of the faithful in the mission of the Church. Her expertise also earned her a seat on the Vatican's Commission of Theologians for the Synod, where she made a notable contribution to the ongoing reflections.

The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue is responsible for promoting and coordinating the Catholic Church's relations with non-Christian religions, with the exception of Judaism, which falls under the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

This appointment also illustrates the growing recognition of African expertise within Vatican bodies. Two other African theologians are among the new consultors: Father André Kabasele Mukenge, director of the Center for African Religious Studies at the Catholic University of Congo in Kinshasa, and Father Isaac Zachariah Mutelo, professor at Arrupe Jesuit University in Harare, Zimbabwe.