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Auxiliary Bishop in Angola Appointed Apostolic Administrator of São Tomé and Príncipe

Bishop António Lunguiek Pedro Bengui, appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe. Credit: Courtesy Photo

By Sheila Pires

São Tomé, 15 July, 2022 / 8:45 pm (ACI Africa).

Pope Francis has appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of Angola’s Luanda Archdiocese as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Catholic Diocese that covers the territory of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Bishop António Lunguiek Pedro Bengui was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Santomean Diocese following the resignation of 62-year-old Bishop Manuel António Mendes dos Santos on Wednesday, July 13.

Born in December 1973 in Damba in Angola’s Uíje Province, Bishop Bengui was ordained a Priest for the Archdiocese of Luanda in October 2001.

The Bishop Bengui who was appointed as one of the two Auxiliary Bishops for Angola’s Luanda Archdiocese in October 2021 holds a Licentiate and Doctorate in Civil and Canon Law from the Rome-based Pontifical Lateran University.  

The Angolan Bishop who has served as the representative of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé during the public sessions of the Angolan Parliament is a member of the Portuguese Association of Canon Lawyers (APC) and the Angolan Group of Canonists.

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In an interview with Vatican News reported on Thursday, July 14, the Titular Bishop of  Elephantaria in Proconsulari said he accepts his new appointment and asks for prayers as he embarks “on this new mission”.

“It's an apostolic mission which the Apostolic Administrator exercises until the appointment of a Bishop”, Bishop Bengui said, and added, “I count on the assistance from the pastoral agents of the Diocese and believe God will guide us as we carry on with this mission until the installation of the new Bishop."

Bishop Bengui is to temporarily oversee the Diocese that has a population of 110,000 Catholics and covers 1,001 square kilometers, according to 2020 statistics.

Meanwhile, the Bishop Emeritus of São Tomé and Príncipe is to remain in the Diocese until August 28.

According to an Ecclesia Agency interview, Bishop Mendes dos Santos is taking part in the Plenary Assembly of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) taking place in Luanda, and is scheduled to conclude on July 21.

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The native of Portugal who has been at the helm of São Tomé and Príncipe Diocese since 2007 told Ecclesia Agency that he “began to feel some fatigue”, adding that “being a small church where everything is centered on the Bishop, I end up feeling quite tired and therefore needing to restore strength, revive life.”

The member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians) was ordained Bishop in Fatima on 17 February 2007.

Until his appointment as the Bishop of São Tomé and Príncipe Diocese, he had served as Provincial Superior of the Portuguese Claretian Province. He had also served as the President of the National Conference of Major Superiors of Religious Institutes.

In expressed gratitude to the people of God in the African island nation close to the equator, saying that “he only takes good things” from Africa. 

He added that “the people of São Tomé are an extraordinary people” and that he has always felt “very cherished” in the Diocese.

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Sheila Pires

Sheila Pires is a veteran radio and television Mozambican journalist based in South Africa. She studied communications at the University of South Africa. She is passionate about writing on the works of the Church through Catholic journalism.

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