The patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a strong voice for peace and development in Africa, died Aug. 17 in Addis Ababa at the age of 76. Abune Paulos, as he was known, was also a leader in the worldwide ecumenical movement. Offering his prayers and condolences to the 40 million members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the patriarch’s visits to the Vatican and, especially, “the important observations he made” when he addressed the special Synod of Bishops for Africa at the Vatican in 2009.