Provincial Vicar of Capuchin Friars in Ethiopia Appointed Vicar Apostolic of Soddo Vicariate

Soddo, 19 June, 2024 / 9:00 PM

Pope Francis has appointed Mons. Dejene Hidoto Gamo, a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap.), who has been serving as the Order’s Provincial Vicar in Ethiopia as Vicar Apostolic for the country’s Soddo Vicariate.

The Episcopal appointment of the Ethiopian-born OFM Capuchin Priest to oversee the Vicariate that has been vacant since November 2023 following the retirement of the then 80-year-old Bishop Tsegaye Keneni Derara was made public by the Holy See Press Office on Wednesday, June 19.

The Apostolic Vicariate has been under the temporary care of Bishop Seyoum Franso Noel of the Horn of Africa country’s Hosanna Vicariate as Apostolic Administrator. 

Born in March 1972 in Sibaye, Soddo, Bishop-elect Gamo took his solemn vows as a Capuchin Friar in 1998 and was ordained a Priest on 9 July 2000 after completing his Priestly studies and Religious formation at St. Francis Capuchin Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa.

As a Priest, Mons. Gamo served as Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes in Dubbo, Wolaita, Director of Social Welfare, assistant chaplain of the English-speaking international community, bursar of the Holy Saviour fraternity, and Director of the Abba Pascal Technical and Vocational Training Institute, among other responsibilities.

At the time of his Episcopal appointment, the Bishop-elect was serving as Pastoral Coordinator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo, Provincial Vicar of Kidane Meheret of the Capuchin Friars of Ethiopia, and guardian of the fraternity of Konto.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Addis Ababa University and a Master of Arts degree in public ethics from Saint Paul’s University, Ottawa in Canada.

Once Consecrated, the Ethiopian Bishop-elect will be at the helm of the 45,500 square-kilometer Vicariate that has 198,000 Catholics, according to 2022 statistics.