Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bissau (Agenzia Fides) – Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Apostolic Nuncio to Guinea-Bissau, is paying a visit to the local church, to the two dioceses of Guinea Bissau and Bafata (see Fides 25/2/2010). According to information sent to Fides by the clergy of Bissau, the Archbishop arrived in the country on Saturday, March 6, from Dakar, Senegal, where he resides. Archbishop Montemayor is is also the Papal Representative in Cape Verde, Mauritania, and Senegal. On Saturday and Sunday, the Nuncio visited the community of Bambadinca Nhambidjon and the Diocese of Bafata. On Sunday, he celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of Bafata and held several meetings with the local community. On Monday, March 8, he traveled to Bissau for a visit to the local seminaries.
Accompanying the Nuncio on his visit is the Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Fr. Massimo Cenci, PIME, who stressed that the purpose of the visit is to learn more about the local situation and talk to the seminary formators so as to facilitate better support from the Congregation for the local seminaries. For Archbishop Pedro Zilli of Bafata, the Nuncio's visit is a great sign that the Church is interested in the Christian community in Guinea-Bissau, "and this gives us great joy," he said. In his visit to Guinea Bissau, ending March 12, in addition to contact with some missions and social works, Archbishop Montemayor will also meet with the State authorities and will pay a courtesy visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adelino Mano Queita.
Archbishop Montemayor, born in Buenos Aires in 1956, was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Guinea Bissau on September 17, 2008. The African country has a population of 1,419,000 inhabitants, of whom 186,000 are Catholics. There are two ecclesiastical circumscriptions (Bafata and Bissau), 33 parishes, and 30 mission stations. Leading the local church are 2 bishops, 22 diocesan priests, and 58 religious. There are also 12 religious priests and brothers and 136 religious sisters. There are 14 diocesan major seminarians and 19 seminarians in religious orders. The Church runs 39 kindergartens, 50 primary schools, and 20 secondary schools. The health care facilities and charities run by the Church are a total of 80, including 4 hospitals, 34 dispensaries, 1 leprosy care center, 2 homes for the elderly and handicapped, and 9 orphanages. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/03/2010)
