Francis Arinze

Even though the parents were believers of the African Traditional Religion, they still sent their children, including Arinze, to the Missionary Schools. On 1 November 1941 at the age of 9, he was baptised by Father [[Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi]] whom he was an altar server. He took the name Francis thereafter.<ref>{{cite book | last=Goshen-Gottstein | first=Alon | title=Interreligious Heroes | publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers | date=2021-10-04 | isbn=978-1-6667-0960-5 | page=119}}</ref> Parents saw how the Christian missionaries dominated the society and their influence on children, always positive, hence Arinze's two elder brothers and his sisters were baptised.<ref name=Cado/>

Even though the parents were believers of the African Traditional Religion, they still sent their children, including Arinze, to the Missionary Schools. On 1 November 1941 at the age of 9, he was baptised by Father [[Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi]] whom he was an altar server. He took the name Francis thereafter.<ref>{{cite book | last=Goshen-Gottstein | first=Alon | title=Interreligious Heroes | publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers | date=2021-10-04 | isbn=978-1-6667-0960-5 | page=119}}</ref> Parents saw how the Christian missionaries dominated the society and their influence on children, always positive, hence Arinze's two elder brothers and his sisters were baptised.<ref name=Cado/>

Arinze completed his primary school at St. Anthony's Dunukofia. The following year, in 1947 at age 15, he was admitted into the junior seminary, All Hallows, which was then located at Nnewi. In 1952 he graduated with excellent results in both the Junior Cambridge and [[Senior Cambridge]] examinations.<ref name=Cado/> He was educated at Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu, where he pursued a three years philosophical studies from 1953 to 1955. He was sent to [[Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide]], where he obtained a bachelor's degree in theology in 1957, a master's degree in 1959, and a doctorate degree with ''[[summa cum laude]]'' in 1960. The first part of his doctoral theses "Igbo Sacrifice as an introduction to the Catechesis of Holy Mass" was highly cited by scholars and was published into a book in 1970 by the Ibadan University Press under the title "Sacrifice in Ibo Religion".<ref name=Cado/>

Arinze completed his primary school at St. Anthony's Dunukofia. The following year, in 1947 at age 15, he was admitted into the junior seminary, All Hallows, which was then located at Nnewi. In 1952 he graduated with excellent results in both the Junior Cambridge and [[Senior Cambridge]] examinations.<ref name=Cado/> He was educated at Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu, where he pursued a three years philosophical studies from 1953 to 1955. He was sent to [[Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide]], where he obtained a bachelor's degree in theology in 1957, a master's degree in 1959, and a doctorate degree ''[[summa cum laude]]'' in 1960. The first part of his doctoral theses "Igbo Sacrifice as an introduction to the Catechesis of Holy Mass" was highly cited by scholars and was published into a book in 1970 by the Ibadan University Press under the title "Sacrifice in Ibo Religion".<ref name=Cado/>

==Early career (1958–1964)==

==Early career (1958–1964)==