Pope Francis Accepts Retirement of Bishop of Rubanza in Burundi, Appoints Administrator

Rubanza, 03 April, 2023 / 9:00 PM

Pope Francis has accepted the retirement of Bishop Jean Ntagwarara from the pastoral care of the Catholic Diocese of Rubanza in Burundi and has appointed Bishop Georges Bizimana as the Apostolic Administrator.

The latest administrative changes in the Burundian Catholic Diocese were made public on Saturday, April 1 by the Holy See Press Office.

Aged 75, Bishop Ntagwarara has been at the helm of Rubanza Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in February 1998.

He succeeded Archbishop Evariste Ngoyagoye, who had been transferred to the Metropolitan See of Bujumbura in April 1997.

The Catholic Diocese of Rubanza is to be temporarily under the leadership of Bishop Bizimana, who is the Local Ordinary of Ngozi Diocese, until the Holy Father appoints a Local Ordinary. 

Born in March 1965 in the Diocese of Ngozi, Bishop Bizimana was ordained a Priest for the same Diocese in August 1994. 

Pope Francis appointed him the Coadjutor Bishop of Bubanza Diocese, Northwestern Burundi, in December 2013.

In December 2019, he was appointed the Local Ordinary of Burundi’s Ngozi Diocese, succeeding Archbishop Gervais Banshimiyubusa who had been transferred to Bujumbura Archdiocese.

Bishop Bizimana who previously served as Lecturer and Rector at Jean Paul II Theological Seminary of Gitega in the Central part of the country holds a doctorate in Moral Theology from Alphonsian Academy in Rome.

The Local Ordinary of Ngozi Diocese is to temporarily administer the Diocese of Rubanza, which measures 2,700 square kilometers and, according to 2020 statistics, has an estimated population of about 469,091 Catholics.