The South African Catholic Bishop currently chairs the Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC).
Bishop Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, 55: Auxiliary Bishop, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
Born in Harar, a city in Eastern Ethiopia, Bishop Gebresilasie made his perpetual profession in the Religious Institute of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) in September 1994. He was ordained a Priest in August 1995 in Addis Ababa.
The alumnus of the Rome-based Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained a Licentiate in Theology, also holds a Diploma in Islamic Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome.
He also pursued Islamic studies at the Dar Comboni for Arabic Studies in Cairo, Egypt, and attended a formation course at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome.
(Story continues below)
Bishop Gebresilasie was elected MCCJ Superior General during the 18th General Chapter in 2015; he was re-elected during the monthlong 19th General Chapter held in June 2022 at the Institute’s General House in Rome.
Earlier, he had served as MCCJ General Councilor responsible for Basic Formation and the circumscriptions of English-speaking Africa and Mozambique following his election to the General Council during the 17th General Chapter of 2009.
In November 2024, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Ethiopia’s Catholic Archdiocese of Addis Ababa that is under the pastoral care of Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel. He was Consecrated Bishop in February 2025.
Fr. Stanley Lubungo, 58: Zambian-born Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa
Born in Zambia’s Ndola Catholic Archdiocese in June 1967, Fr. Lubungo made his Perpetual Profession as a White Father in Toulouse in December 1996, and ordained a Priest in his native country in August 1997.
He worked as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and after further studies in Rome and Dublin, he was appointed as a formator in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Fr. Lubungo had just completed studies in Dogmatic Theology in Paris when he was appointed Provincial of Southern Africa in July 2015.
He was elected Superior General of the White Fathers during the 2016 General Chapter; he was re-elected in 2022.
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.