Early life and ordination

Théodore-Adrien Sarr was born in Fadiouth to Rôg^[1] (baptised Edouard^[1] or Roger) and Louise (maiden name : Louise Diakher Diouf) Sarr,^[1] as one of seven children ^[2] (including two sons and four daughters). He was born to a Serer family and has many family members in Gambia.^[3] He completed his secondary studies at the minor seminary in Hann, where he received a baccalaureate. Sarr then studied philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary of Sébikhotane and the University of Dakar.^[1][2]

He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Hyacinthe Thiandoum on 28 May 1964, and furthered his studies at the University of Dakar, from where he obtained his licentiate in the classical languages of Latin and Greek.^[1][2]

Pastoral work

Sarr then did pastoral work at the parish of Saint-Thérèse in Dakar, as assistant to the groups of Catholic Action.^[4] He also served as a professor at the Minor Seminary of N'Gasobil, later as its superior from 1970 to 1974.^[4]

Bishop

On 1 July 1974, Sarr was appointed the second Bishop of Kaolack by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 24 November from Archbishop Thiandoum, with Bishops Théophile Cadoux, MSC, and Augustin Sagna serving as co-consecrators, in an open-air ceremony at the grand square of Collège Pie XII in Kaolack. Bishop Sarr was later named the third Archbishop of Dakar on 2 June 2000.^[1][2]

In addition to his duties as archbishop, he also serves as president of the Episcopal Conference of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau, and the first vice-president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.^[4]

Cardinal

Pope Benedict XVI created him Cardinal-Priest of S. Lucia a Piazza d'Armi in the consistory of 24 November 2007. On 17 January 2009 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture by Pope Benedict.^[5][6]

Cardinal Sarr was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis. However, he is no longer eligible to participate in any future papal conclaves as he reached the age of eighty on 28 November 2016.

Abortion

Sarr discourages abortion, noting that the synod fathers affirmed that life must be respected from beginning to its natural end. He further stated that pastoral ministers in Africa must seek to help women with unwanted pregnancies, and that there are ways to deal with a difficult pregnancy other than abortion.^[7]

HIV/AIDS and condoms

In 2009, Cardinal Sarr defended the Pope over a controversy surrounding the latter's refusal to approve any sort of condom use in the fight against AIDS.^[8]