Catholic bishops from West Africa are leading an international effort to develop the Sahel Peace University — a prospective higher education institution to train future leaders in addressing the scourge of terrorism and violence in the region.
The proposed university is borne out of the broader Sahel Peace Initiative, an interfaith advocacy organization working toward peacebuilding in the region. The Sahel is the region sitting directly below the Sahara desert, representing the northernmost part of Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to a concept proposal provided to EWTN News, the initiative is led by the Catholic bishops conferences in Burkina Faso and Niger.
Christians are the minority in both countries, representing slightly more than one-fourth of Burkina Faso and about 1% of Niger. Traditional African religions also represent a minority, while Islam is the most practiced religion.
“While we will envision solutions like buildings and programs, the goal is to foster a robust population engaged in problem solving and developing a sustainable peace in the Sahel,” the proposal states.
Although led by Catholics, the bishops also partner with Muslim clerics and leaders of traditional African faith communities. The proposal notes the university will be grounded in Catholic social teaching, and open to everyone, and expressed a commitment to work with interfaith partners, especially the Muslim community.
“The [university] will serve as a regional hub for peacebuilding, governance research, trauma healing, and community resilience, equipping leaders and communities to address the Sahel’s most urgent challenges,” it adds.
The bishops hope to headquarter the university in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It will be African- and Catholic-led, but the bishops are looking for international support, including from the United States.
“While the physical requirements include buildings and materials, these are merely tools for the emerging leaders to cultivate a new group of younger and empowered people of all faiths working collaboratively towards the shared goal of lasting peace,” it states.
Burkina Faso bishops seek solidarity
Bishops from Burkina Faso have met with Pope Leo XIV in Rome and have offered information to the U.S. State Department in a recent trip to the United States, hoping to spread awareness about problems in the Sahel and to garner more support for their peace efforts.
Two of the bishops — Archbishop Laurent Dabire, archbishop of Bobo-Dioulasso, and Bishop Alexandre Bazie, auxiliary bishop of Koudougou and head of the Burkina Faso-Niger bishops’ delegation — spoke with EWTN News about the situation on the ground and efforts to gain support for the university.
The bishops spoke in French through a translator, Father Barthelemy Bazemo.
Dabire said he told Leo the bishops have been trying to raise awareness about problems in the region for a long time. He said people globally are aware of the conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, and Gaza, but often Africa and the Sahel are overlooked.
President Donald Trump coordinated with the Nigerian government to strike terrorists in Nigeria — a country in the Sahel, east of Burkina Faso — amid rampant violence, killings, and terrorism that has disproportionately targeted Christians, but also victimized many Muslims and followers of traditional African religions.
Bazie said the U.S. has coordinated with Burkina Faso on separate issues, such as health initiatives, but the terrorism problem has not drawn as much attention from the administration when compared to Nigeria.
He said the violence in Burkina Faso is not one-sided against Christians, but that terrorists target both churches and mosques, and both Christian and Muslim clerics. He warned the people of Burkina Faso, however, cannot afford to wait until the situation reaches the level of Nigeria.
According to a 2025 report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) about the Sahel countries, Burkina Faso has “one of the world’s highest rates of civilian attacks and fatalities from insurgent violence.”
It cites actions from violent insurgent groups, including a February 2024 attack by the Islamic State – Sahel Province that killed 12 worshipers at a Catholic Church in Essakane. There was another attack that month on a mosque that killed dozens of people, along with numerous attacks on villages by bandits and insurgents. These attacks have targeted both Christians and Muslims.
In addition to murders, attacks have included kidnappings of priests, religious sisters, imams, and other Christian and Muslim civilians.
“As a result of brutal killings — thousands [have been] killed — there [are] many [in the] community being impacted [and] it takes education,” Bazie said. “It takes several years of training to get people into the [right] mindset, even if we have different solutions.”
Bazie noted that the Church has been working to improve the region through construction of schools and hospitals and other forms of economic development, but that additional support from outside partners can help the region further.
“With limited resources, [we’re] trying to do [our] best,” he said. “But now coming here is to ask for support in what’s already being done.”
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