Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (2019)

Cardinal coat of arms

Archbishop's coat of arms (before the cardinals' rising in 2019)

Fridolin Ambongo Cardinal Besungu OFMCap (born January 24, 1960 in Boto, Belgian Congo ) is a Congolese religious and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa .

Life

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu entered the Capuchin Order on November 12, 1980 and made his perpetual vows on October 4, 1986 . He studied in his home country and in Rome, where he obtained degrees in moral theology at the Accademia Alfonsiana . In 1988 he received the sacrament of ordination . He then held the following offices: pastor, professor at the Catholic faculty in Kinshasa, religious superior and vice provincial of the Congolese Capuchin Province, chairman of ASUMA and CONCAU (regional associations of Capuchins in Africa) and the “Cri du Pauvre” committee of the Capuchins in Rome .

He was appointed bishop of Bokungu-Ikela on November 22, 2004 by Pope John Paul II . He received the episcopal ordination on March 6, 2005 by the Archbishop of Mbandaka-Bikoro , Joseph Kumuondala Mbimba . Co- consecrators were the Apostolic Nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Archbishop Giovanni d'Aniello , and the Archbishop of Kinshasa , Cardinal Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi .

From October 30, 2008 to August 9, 2015 he was Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Kole during the Sedis vacancy . On March 5, 2016, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator sede plena of the Archdiocese of Mbandaka-Bikoro. Due to the archbishop's death just a day later, he became administrator sede vacante .

Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of Mbandaka-Bikoro on November 12, 2016 . He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Bokungu-Ikela for the duration of the Sedis vacancy. The inauguration took place on December 11th of the same year.

On February 6, 2018, Pope Francis appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Kinshasa. With the age-related resignation of Laurent Monsengwo Cardinal Pasinya on November 1st of the same year, he succeeded him as Archbishop of Kinshasa. The official inauguration took place on November 25th of the same year. He administered the Archdiocese of Mbandaka-Bikoro as Apostolic Administrator until the inauguration of his successor on January 26, 2020.

On September 1, 2019, Pope Francis announced that he would be admitted to the College of Cardinals as a cardinal priest in the consistory of October 5, 2019 . When the cardinal was created, the Pope assigned him the titular church of San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa on October 5, 2019 . On February 21, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life .

Web links

Entry about Fridolin Ambongo Besungu on catholic-hierarchy.org

Individual evidence

^ Nomina dell'Amministratore Apostolico “sede plena et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis” di Mbandaka-Bikoro (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , March 5, 2016, accessed March 6, 2016 (Italian).
^ Nomina dell'Arcivescovo Metropolita di Mbandaka-Bikoro (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, November 12, 2016, accessed November 12, 2016 (Italian).
^ Nomina del Coadiutore di Kinshasa (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 6, 2018, accessed November 1, 2018 (Italian).
^ Rinuncia e successione dell'Arcivescovo di Kinshasa (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, November 1, 2018, accessed November 1, 2018 (Italian).
↑ Annuncio di Concistoro il 5 ottobre per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, September 1, 2019, accessed September 1, 2019 (Italian).
↑ Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, October 5, 2019, accessed October 5, 2019 (Italian).
^ Nomina di Membri dei Dicasteri della Curia Romana. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 21, 2020, accessed February 21, 2020 (Italian).

predecessor	Office	successor
Joseph Mokobe Ndjoku	Bishop of Bokungu-Ikela 2004–2016	Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC
Joseph Kumuondala Mbimba	Archbishop of Mbandaka-Bikoro 2016-2018	Ernest Ngboko Ngombe CICM
Laurent Monsengwo Cardinal Pasinya	Archbishop of Kinshasa since 2018	-

personal data
SURNAME	Ambongo Besungu, Fridolin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ambongo Besungu, Cardinal Fridolin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Congolese religious and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa
DATE OF BIRTH	January 24, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH	Boto, Belgian Congo

[1] Nomina dell'Amministratore Apostolico “sede plena et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis” di Mbandaka-Bikoro (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , March 5, 2016, accessed March 6, 2016 (Italian).

[2] Nomina dell'Arcivescovo Metropolita di Mbandaka-Bikoro (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, November 12, 2016, accessed November 12, 2016 (Italian).

[3] Nomina del Coadiutore di Kinshasa (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 6, 2018, accessed November 1, 2018 (Italian).

[4] Rinuncia e successione dell'Arcivescovo di Kinshasa (Repubblica Democratica del Congo). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, November 1, 2018, accessed November 1, 2018 (Italian).

[5] Annuncio di Concistoro il 5 ottobre per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, September 1, 2019, accessed September 1, 2019 (Italian).

[6] Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, October 5, 2019, accessed October 5, 2019 (Italian).

[7] Nomina di Membri dei Dicasteri della Curia Romana. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 21, 2020, accessed February 21, 2020 (Italian).