First Orthodox Priest in Mauretania
On 4 July, with the blessing of his Holiness Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and all Africa, Metropolitan Alexis of Carthage ordained Deacon Labro Kefallino to the priesthood, four days after he had been ordained deacon. Fr Labro, who is 32 years old, is married and will serve in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Most of Mauretania’s territory is the Sahara, but it has over a population of some three million people. The official religion is Islam and it was until recently the last North African country where the Orthodox Church had neither a church nor a parish. Fr Labro is the first Orthodox priest to serve there.
After the ordination, Metropolitan Alexis mentioned that the North African State is in a difficult situation because of religious fundamentalism, Islamic extremism, political instability, severe weather conditions and extreme poverty. He asked all to pray for Fr Labro, who since 2004 has prepared the ground for a permanent presence and witness to Orthodoxy in Mauritania.
