“Receive everyone without discrimination”: Congolese Cardinal to New Bishop

“I pray the Lord to grant you a pure and good heart, a heart that is attentive and open to all, and that he will make you a good collaborator in his vineyard,” Cardinal Ambongo said.

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Ndjadi as Auxiliary Bishop for Kisangani Archdiocese on 13 May 2023.

The Bishop who had been serving as the Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) was born  in January 1976 in Yanong in the Archdiocese of Kisangani.

The Congolese Bishop who has been assigned the Titular See of Casae in Numidia made his perpetual vows in MCCJ Congregation on 10 October 2005, and was ordained a Priest in August 2006.

In his speech during the August 13 Episcopal Ordination, Bishop José Moko Ekanga, the Vice-president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) paid tribute to all missionaries who sowed the Good News of the Gospel in Kisangani Archdiocese. 

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“We reiterate our warm congratulations and our closeness. Be assured of our prayers and the support of the Blessed Martyrs Anuarite and Bakanja in finding joy in the Lord,” Bishop Moko said.

He urged the faithful to welcome their new Bishop as a “father and pastor who needs their prayers, respect, affection and obedience.”

Bshop Moko said, “May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace and Our Lady of the Congo, on this Assumption Day when we celebrate her exaltation by the Lord as Queen of the Universe, obtain for you abundant graces from Her Son and accompany you on the path of your new ministry.”

Bishop Ndjadi is expected to assist 64-year-old Archbishop Utembi in shepherding the people of God in the 150,123 square kilometer Metropolitan See with an estimated population of 959,340 Catholics, according to 2021 statistics. 

Established in August 1904 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Stanley Falls from the Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville, the Episcopal See was elevated to a Metropolitan in November 1959. 

Its Ecclesiastical province comprises eight Suffragan sees, including Bondo, Bunia, Buta, Doruma–Dungu, Isangi, Isiro–Niangara, Mahagi–Nioka, and Wamba.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.