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Pope Francis Accepts Retirement of Bishop of Uganda’s Kotido Diocese, Appoints Successor

Mons. Dominic Eibu, appointed Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kotido in Uganda on 25 October 2022. Credit: Courtesy Photo

Pope Francis has accepted the retirement of Bishop Giuseppe Filippi of the Catholic Diocese of Kotido in Uganda and appointed his successor.

In the latest administrative changes published Tuesday, October 25 by the Holy See Press Office, Pope Francis appointed Mons. Dominic Eibu as the successor of the 77-year-old Italian-born member of Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ).

The appointment of Mons. Eibu, a Ugandan-born Comboni missionary Priest, was confirmed by the Apostolic Nuncio in Uganda.

“The Apostolic Nunciature in Uganda has the pleasure to announce that on 25 October 2022, the Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Kotido … Fr. Dominic Eibu, and has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same Diocese presented by Bishop Filippi… upon reaching the canonical age limit,” reads a statement from Archbishop Luigi Bianco.

Archbishop Bianco goes on to congratulate the Bishop-elect and “invokes abundant blessings upon his pastoral ministry.” 

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Addressing himself to Bishop Filippi, the representative of the Holy Father in Uganda expresses “many thanks for his generous service as Bishop of Kotido from 2009.”

Born in April 1970 in Lwala in Uganda’s Soroti Diocese, the newly appointed Bishop for Kotido Diocese made his perpetual vows in the Religious Institute of the Comboni Missionaries on 12 January 2002. He was ordained a Priest on 15 August 2002.

As a Comboni Priest, Mons. Eibu has served in various capacities including Director of the Comboni Primary School in Khartoum, Vice Provincial Superior of Combonis in Sudan, and member and secretary of the College of Consultors and secretary of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Khartoum.

Until his appointment as Bishop for Kotido Diocese, Mons. Eibu has been serving as Parish Priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Cairo, Vice Provincial Superior of Egypt-Sudan Province. He is also a member of the Education Committee of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Once Consecrated Bishop, the alumnus of the Rome-based Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies is expected to administer Kotido Diocese that has a population of 193,010 Catholics, according to 2019 statistics

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The 13,550 square-kilometer Ugandan Catholic Diocese that was erected in December 1991 is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Tororo.

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.