Latest Appointments to Vatican Dicasteries “encouragement to Africa’s Church”: SECAM President

Nairobi, 09 July, 2025 / 10:45 AM

The appointment of five members from Africa to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) and three others to the Dicastery for  Interreligious Dialogue is a source of “encouragement” for the people of God in Africa, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has said.

In his Monday, July 7 “message of congratulations to the African appointees to the Dicasteries for Consecrated Life and Interreligious Dialogue, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu also describes the Papal appointments as “a source of pride and hope” for the people of God in Africa.

“These appointments have brought immense joy and encouragement to the Church in Africa”, the Local Ordinary of Kinshasa Catholic Archdiocese in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) says in his one-page message shared with ACI Africa.

Bishop Willybard Kitogho Lagho of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Malindi, Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka of South Africa’s Mthatha Catholic  Diocese, and Bishop Ollo Modeste Kambou of Gaoua Catholic Diocese in Burkina Faso were among the 22 appointed to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue on July 3.

Earlier, on June 24, the Holy Father appointed 19 new members to the Vatican Dicastery for ICLSAL, all of them members of ICLSAL, five ministering in Africa.

The five ministering in Africa included Cristóbal Cardinal López Romero of the Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat in Morocco and member of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB); Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Tanzania’s Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam, who is a member of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM Cap.); and Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa of South Africa’s Catholic Diocese of Kokstad, a member of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries  (CMM)

The other two appointed to the Vatican Dicastery headed by Sr. Simona Brambilla of the Consolata Missionary Sisters (MC) were Bishop Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, the Auxiliary Bishop of Ethiopia’s Catholic Archdiocese of Addis Ababa, a member of the Religious Institute of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ); and Fr. Stanley Lubungo, the Zambian-born Superior General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers/MAfr.).

Writing on behalf of Africa’s Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Ambongo says, “We view this expression of trust from the Supreme Pontiff as a powerful acknowledgment of your gifts, pastoral experience, and the growing contribution of the African continent to the life and mission of the universal Church.”

“Your appointments are a source of pride and hope for the Church in Africa,” he says, and adds, “In a time marked by both challenges and opportunities in the areas of Consecrated Life and interreligious engagement, your voices and perspectives will be of immense value.”

The President of SECAM continues, “We are confident that you will bring to the Dicasteries deep spiritual insight, rooted in the African ecclesial and cultural context, in service to the People of God and the wider world.”

“Please be assured of the prayerful support and fraternal solidarity of SECAM as you take up these important responsibilities,” the Congolese OFM Cap. member says, and implores, “May the Holy Spirit accompany and inspire you in your service to the Church and to all humanity.”