He noted that all the people of God share in the mission to fulfill the Lord’s mandate, as transformed disciples, following the Bishop and the Diocese as they move forward in spreading the message of love and living the commandment of love among brothers and sisters.
Bishop Binga expressed his desire to consecrate the Diocese as a new family of God’s people, saying, “I declare that the Diocese of Ganda is a church-family, and since we are located along the way, we want to be a spring of grace, love, forgiveness and hope for all.”
“If you come from Huila or Lubango, we welcome you in Cotembo and Chongoroi. If you come from Benguela, we welcome you in Caluteva, Cotengue, or Caibambo. If you come from Mambo, we welcome you as visitors. Come to the Diocese of Ganda and become part of our family,” he added.
He said, “We are all children of God. God is our Father, and Jesus Christ is our Savior, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, we officially take on the responsibility of being a diocese, the Diocese of Ganda.”
“Let us invite everyone to see each other as brothers and sisters, to sell our riches and thrones, and focus on the poor to gain eternal life by following Christ,” the Catholic Church leader said.
Born in Angola’s Catholic Archdiocese of Lubango in September 1966, Bishop Binga was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Benguela in April 1996 after completing his Priestly studies and formation program at Bom Pastor (Good Shepherd) Seminary and the Cristo Rei Seminary in Huambo Diocese.
As a Priest, he served in various capacities including Prefect of discipline in the Preparatory Seminary in Benguela Diocese, collaborator in the Parish of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, and President of the Diocesan Commission for Study and Refresher Courses and lecturer in various institutions of higher learning.
Carved out from Benguela Diocese, Ganda Diocese has become one of the suffragan Dioceses in the Metropolitan See of Huambo.
The new Diocese measures 24.447 square kilometers. It has a population of 947.826 of which 633.636 are Catholic faithful, representing 66.9 percent of the total population of the territory of the Diocese, according to 2024 statistics.
João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.
