AFRICA/ANGOLA - Bishop of Dundo appointed

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father Benedict XVI, on October 6, 2008, appointed Father José Manuel Imbamba, of the clergy of the Diocese of Lwena, Secretary General of the Catholic University of Luanda and Professor of Philosophy at the Major Seminary in Luanda, as Bishop of the Diocese of Dundo (Angola).
The Bishop elect was born in the town of Boma, Province of Moxico, in the Diocese of Lwena, on January 7, 1965. Having concluded his philosophical and theological studies at the Major Seminary of Luanda in 1991, he was ordained a priest on December 29 of the same year. He was the first priest from the Diocese of Lwena. Since his ordination, he has served as follows: Parish pastor of the Cathedral of Lwena and Diocesan Delegate for Caritas (1992-1995); Student at the School of Philosophy at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome (1995-1999); Vicar General of Lwena and Director of the Diocesan Secretariate of Pastoral Ministry and Professor of Philosophy at the Educational Institute IMNE and of Portuguese at the Health Institute (IMS) (1999-2000). Since 2001, he has been the Secretary General of the Catholic University of Luanda and Professor of Philosophy at the Major Seminary in Luanda.
The Diocese of Dundo (Angola), suffragan of the Archdiocese of Luanda, was erected in 2001. It covers an area of 106,000 km sq, a population of 1,000,000 inhabitants, of whom 40,000 are Catholic. There are 5 parishes, 2 diocesan priests, 4 religious priests, 16 religious sisters, and 6 major seminarians. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 6/10/2008)