Education
He entered the minor seminary at age 14 in Benin.
In 1953 he was sent to Rome to study Theology and Canon Law.
He entered the minor seminary at age 14 in Benin.
In 1953 he was sent to Rome to study Theology and Canon Law.
Gantin entered the seminary in 1936 and was ordained priest on 14 July 1951. H remained at the seminary in Ouidah as a language teacher, and completed his training at the College of Saint Peter in Rome in 1953. A strong thrust toward Christianity came with the experience of many slaves deported from the country to the plantations of Latin America, the majority of whom upon their return to Africa were witness to the strength and hope they had received from the Gospel. He attended the Pontifical Urban University and the Pontifical Lateran University. He graduated in theology and canon law.
In 1953, leaving his heart in Africa, he was sent to Rome to study at the Pontifical Urban University and then at the Lateran. He received a licentiate in theology and in canon law.
In 1956, he was appointed of Auxiliary Bishop of Cotonou with the title of titular bishop of Tipasa Mauritania. On 11 December 1956 he was elected titular Bishop of Tipasa of Mauritania and Auxiliary of Cotonou and was consecrated on 3 February 1957. He was the first African metropolitan archbishop. He created various local congregations of sisters and nuns, promoted several training centers and promoted religious Catholic Action locally. He was particularly active in the opening of the Church to other believers in the area, allowing the creation of many dioceses in Benin. President of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa, he was called to Rome by Pope Paul VI to the "Congregation of the Propaganda of the Faith" (now called the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples). Bishop Adimou succeeded him in continuing his work locally.
Like many senior African prelates of his era, he was relatively conservative, but was esteemed by both his native land and for his work in Rome.