After ordination he served as deputy parish priest of the Cathedral of Kaya (1973-1978), after which he completed a degree in canon law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome (1978-1982). He then held the following positions: deputy parish priest of the Cathedral (1983-1984), parish priest of the Cathedral and member of the regional ecclesiastical tribunal (1984-1991), vicar general and head of the foundation of the minor seminary (1992-1995) and rector of the minor seminary (1993-1995). From 1989 to 1996, he served as national director of the pontifical mission works, and from 1995 to 1996, as priest in the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption of Pisilla. He was also a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

On 5 July 1996, he was appointed by Blessed John Paul II as bishop of Ouahigouya (Burkina Faso) and received episcopal consecration on 23 November of the same year. On 13 May 2009, H.H. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Archbishop of Ouagadougou. He was created proclaimed Cardinal by H.H. Pope Francis in the consistory of 22 February 2014, of the Title of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino (St. Mary of Consolation in Tiburtino).

He is a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as well as a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.