Cesare Mazzolari
Cesare Mazzolari MCCJ (born February 9, 1937 in Brescia , † July 16, 2011 in Rumbek , South Sudan ) was an Italian religious and from 1998 until his death Roman Catholic bishop of the Rumbek diocese in South Sudan.
Life
Mazzolari entered a seminary of the Comboni Missionaries , and received on 17 March 1962, the priestly ordination . He then worked as a priest for the Comboni missionaries and stood up for the rights of Mexican indigenous minorities and African-Americans who lived as miners in the US state of Ohio .
In 1981 he began his missionary work in what is now South Sudan in the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio , then in the Archdiocese of Juba . In 1990 he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Rumbek Diocese. On November 5th, 1998 he was appointed Bishop of Rumbek by Pope John Paul II . John Paul II himself donated him episcopal ordination on January 6, 1999 ; Co -consecrators were Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re , Official in the Vatican State Secretariat , and Francesco Monterisi , Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops .
During his thirty years in South Sudan he campaigned for child soldiers and ran several mission stations at the risk of his life . In 1994 he was temporarily hostage of the Sudanese Liberation Army ( SPLA) during the second civil war . To the end he called for peace and understanding in the region and provided information about the dangers of new fighting.
Together with others, including the diocese of Brescia , he founded the aid project "Cesar" in Rumbek to make the dramatic situation of the Sudanese population known. He organized numerous information and awareness campaigns across the country. "Cesar" supported projects in the fields of education, upbringing, health, justice, peace and evangelism. In 2000 he received the Premio della Bontà Paolo VI from the municipality of Concesio for his commitment . The Rotary International Foundation honored him as a Paul Harris Fellow .
Mazzolari died of health problems a week after South Sudan's independence from Sudan , for which he had campaigned. On July 9, 2011, he took part in the celebrations for the independence of South Sudan.
literature
- Lorenzo Fazzini: Un Vangelo per l'Africa. Cesare Mazzolari, vescovo di una Chiesa crocifissa. Edizioni Lindau 2011, ISBN 978-88-7180-936-6 .
Web links
- Entry on Cesare Mazzolari on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on March 9, 2018.
- VATICAN RADIO: Italy / South Sudan: Bishop Mazzolari is dead (July 16, 2011)
- IL GIORNALE: È morto Cesare Mazzolari Il vescovo che in Africa aiutava i bimbi-soldato , July 16, 2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ "We fear a new war". Churches warn of new fighting in Sudan - despite the peace treaty. kirche-in-not.de, January 26, 2010
- ↑ Cesar Onlus - Coordinamento Enti Solidali a Rumbek , accessed on July 17, 2011
- ↑ Mons. Cesare Mezzolari , December 9, 2011
- ^ Il vescovo Cesare Mazzolari, un missionario vero , L'Espresso, July 16, 2011
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Dwatuka Wagi |
Bishop of Rumbek 1998–2011 |
vacant |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mazzolari, Cesare |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian theologian and Roman Catholic bishop |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 9, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brescia , Italy |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 2011 |
| Place of death | Rumbek , South Sudan |