AFRICA/GABON - The intention to establish a Catholic University in Gabon confirmed

Libreville (Agenzia Fides) - “The Holy See is interested in offering young Gabonese people an educational alternative for professional and university studies,” said Msgr. Javier Herrera Corona, Apostolic Nuncio in the Republic of Congo and Gabon, confirming the project to build a Catholic university in Gabon.
The debate on the creation of this academic institution has been going on for months. In April 2024, the project was analyzed in meetings between the Minister of Higher Education, Hervé Ndoume Essigone, and the Spanish ambassador to Gabon, Ramón Molina. The proposal was reaffirmed in a recent meeting between the Apostolic Nuncio and the President of the Transition, Brice Oligui Nguema, who has expressed his support for moving forward with the initiative.
The new Catholic university is part of the Gabonese authorities' objective of strengthening the national education system, in line with strategic projects such as the creation of a digital and industrial "technopolis" in Libreville. This initiative is part of the "Digital Gabon" strategy, launched in November 2024, which seeks to promote digital transformation as a driver of development, creating a favorable environment for it. The region already has precedents of similar institutions, such as the Catholic University of Central Africa (Université Catholique d'Afrique Centrale, UCAC) in Yaoundé (Cameroon), created in 1989 through an agreement between the Holy See and the Cameroonian government.
UCAC has extended its presence to other countries in the region, such as the Republic of Congo and Chad. Likewise, in the Democratic Republic of Congo there is the Université Catholique du Congo (UCC), founded in 1987. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 24/1/2025)

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