Pope Francis names a new bishop for Kibungo Diocese
Pope Francis has appointed a Rwandan priest Jean-Marie Vianney Twagirayezu as the new Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kibungo.
The appointment announcement was made by the Rwanda Episcopal Conference this February 20, 2023.
Before his appointment, Fr. Twagirayezu was serving the Catholic Church in Rwanda as the General Secretary of Caritas Rwanda.
Caritas Rwanda is one of the local charity organizations that support the most vulnerable people (the elderly, the people with disabilities, most vulnerable, chronically sick people among others) with basic needs: access to shelter, education, clothing, health services, food and nonfood items.
Now, Bishop Twagirayezu will take up the Kibungo diocese which has been under the care of Cardinal Antione Kambanda, who has been overseeing the Archbishop of Kigali and Kibungo diocese simultaneously.
This means that Cardinal Kambanda, who has been running Kibungo diocese from 2013, will immediately be relieved of his duties in Kibungo diocese which has over 398,700 Catholics and concentrate on overseeing the whole Catholic Church in Rwanda.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kibungo is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Rwanda. It was erected on 5 September 1968 by Pope John XXIII. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Kigali.
Bishop Twagirayezu was born on July 21, 1960 in Nyundo parish. He later studied philosophy and theology from 1988- 1994 to later became an ordained priest on October 8, 1995.
He previously served in the same diocese of Kibongo as a parish priest in Muramba parish and served the Director of Caritas Rwanda Nyundo diocese from 2000-2002 soon after completing his degree in Theology studies from Louvain Catholic University in Belgium.
He was later appointed as the chief accountant for Nyundo diocese from 2002-2009, and was sent back to Louvain Catholic University in Belgium to study business management where he also did a PhD while serving as the Secretary General of Caritas Rwanda.
