Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)

Zimbabwe: New Archbishop for Bulawayo Appointed

24 June 2009

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Fr Alex Thomas Kaliyanil, Regional Superior of the Society of the Divine Word in Zimbabwe, as Archbishop of Bulawayo.

The archbishop-elect was born in Vallamchira, India, in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1988.

He replaces Archbishop Pius Ncube, a harsh critic of President Robert Mugabe, who resigned from his post in September 2007 following accusations, which he admitted, that he committed adultery.

The archdiocese of Bulawayo has an area of 66,956 square kilometers and a population of 1,858,000. There are 115,793 Catholics, 87 priests, 21 permanent deacons and 203 religious.

Meanwhile, Tanzanian Bishop Augustine Shao of Zanzibar is among three newly appointed members of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (PCID) by Pope Benedict XVI.

Bishop Shao of Holy Ghost Fathers was born in 1951 in Tanzania and was ordained priest in 1983 and consecrated bishop in 1997.

Tagged: Religion, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe

Copyright © 2009 Catholic Information Service for Africa. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 130 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.

Comments 1 to 2 of 2 Post a comment

  • moltecc
    Jun 25 2009, 01:34
    Report Abuse

    My God this guy was set up by CIO and the Pontiff saw otherwisw. Fare well the fornicator you tried hard to fornicate Zimbabwe but the virgins said no. Marriage first and bedroom later. God works in mysterious ways.

  • George Warren
    Jun 30 2009, 12:04
    Report Abuse

    You know Moltec, I actually agree with you on that.