Secretary of DR Congo’s Lubumbashi Ecclesiastical Province Appointed Bishop for Kolwezi

Kolwezi, 11 January, 2022 / 9:15 PM

Pope Francis has appointed the Secretary of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the Bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Kolwezi in the Central African nation.

The Tuesday, January 11 appointment of Mons. Richard Kazadi Kamba was published by the Holy See Press Office. 

In DRC, news of the administrative changes in Kolwezi Diocese was published by the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO). 

"The General Secretariat of CENCO, is delighted with this news, presents its warm and sincere congratulations to His Excellency Bishop Richard Kazadi and wishes him a fruitful ministry in the Church-Family of God which is in Kolwezi," CENCO officials say in the statement signed by the Second Deputy Secretary General of the Conference, Fr. Georges Kalenga. 

Mons. Kamba is expected to succeed Bishop Nestor Ngoy Katahwa whose retirement has been accepted by the Holy Father. 

The 78-year-old Congolese Bishop has been at the helm of the Congolese Diocese since November 2000. 

Bishop-elect Kamba has been serving as the Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lubumbashi since 2010. 

At the time of his appointment as Bishop of Kolwezi, Mons. Kamba has also been the Director General of the Bishop Mulolwa Interdiocesan Higher Institute and of the Interdiocesan Center of Lubumbashi.

He is expected to become the fourth Local Ordinary of Kolwezi Diocese, which was erected in March 1971.

Born in December 1964, Mons. Kamba was ordained a Priest for the Archdiocese of Lubumbashi in September 1992. 

As a Priest, he has served in various capacities including Parish Vicar, Notary of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Lubumbashi, and President of the Preparatory Commission of the second Archdiocesan Synod of Lubumbashi, among others.

Mons. Kamba is an alumnus of the Pontifical Gregorian University where he obtained a Doctorate in Dogmatic Theology.

Once he is ordained a Bishop, he will be at the helm of the 105,184 square kilometer Diocese that is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lubumbashi. 

The Diocese of Kolwezi has a population of 1,378,000 Catholics, according to 2019 statistics.