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Parish Priest of Sudanese Cathedral Parish Appointed Bishop for Torit Diocese, South Sudan

Mons. Emmanuel Bernardino Lowi Napeta, appointed Bishop of South Sudan's Torit Diocese on 8 November 2022. Credit: Courtesy Photo

Pope Francis has appointed the Parish Priest of St. Matthew’s Cathedral Parish of Khartoum Archdiocese in Sudan, Bishop for Torit Diocese in South Sudan.

The appointment of Mons. Emmanuel Bernardino Lowi Napeta was published by the Holy See Press Office on Tuesday, November 8.

Torit Diocese has been vacant since December 2019 when Archbishop Stephen Ameyu was transferred to Juba Archdiocese. Archbishop Ameyu was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the South Sudanese Episcopal See.

The 58-year-old Archbishop will still serve as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese until the new Bishop is ordained and installed, the Charge d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature announced in a statement made public November 8. 

“Following Canon Law, you will remain the Apostolic Administrator until the Bishop-elect will take possession of the Episcopal See of that Diocese. Consequently, your name will continue to be mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer until that very date,” Mons. Jonut Paul Strejac says in the statement addressed to Archbishop Ameyu.

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He adds, “In these weeks of preparation for the episcopal consecration of the Bishop-elect Emmanuel Bernardino Lowi Napeta, I wish you God's abundant graces and blessings.”

A native of Torit Diocese where he was born in December 1973, Mons. Napeta was ordained a Priest for the Archdiocese of Khartoum in October 2004 after completing his Priestly formation from St. Paul’s Major Seminary in Khartoum.

The Bishop-elect holds a Baccalaureate in Educational Sciences - Religious Education and a Licentiate in Education - Youth Ministry and Catechetics from the Rome-based Pontifical Salesian University.

As a Priest, the Mons. Napeta has served in various capacities, including Parish Vicar of the Holy Spirit in Omdurman, Khartoum, Director of the Institute of Catechists for the Third Millennium, Khartoum and Assistant Parish Priest of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish of Khartoum Archdiocese.

Once ordained Bishop, Mons. Napeta is expected to serve as the fourth Local Ordinary of the South Sudanese Diocese that has a population of 1,139,835 Catholics, according to 2020 statistics

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The 82,542 square-kilometer Catholic Diocese of Torit was erected in May 1983 and is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Juba.

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.